Secrets and Divine Diplomacy
by LeoLeonte
Summary: The Gods are at war. Not with the Titans, not with Gaia and the Giants, not with themselves, but with each other. Treaties have been broken and Zeus is furious, but who will pay the price?
1. Chapter 1

**This is my very first fanfiction. I really hope you will be patient with me. I have taken the liberty of manipulating timelines which puts Nico and Hermione at almost the same age. Most will probably find Nico rather OOC, but the main part of the story is set about three years after Blood of Olympus, with flashback-ish episodes to the period between The Last Olympian and Nico's appearance in The Son of Neptune.** **That means that Nico is around 18-19, so he has had some time to mature and gain a bit of confidence.**

Hermione was having a normal day. Or at least it would have been a normal day, had she been a normal person. For Hermione, having a quiet day, relaxing in the sun, was quite abnormal.

Naturally, she was suspicious. The Fates rarely gave her a 'day off'. Odds were that a monster would be lurking around the next street corner or a dark wizard was creeping up on her from behind. A lot of Voldemort's followers had fled when they saw they were fighting a losing battle. That was about a month ago, she would be foolish not to be on guard. It wasn't more than a couple of days ago, that Weasley Wizard Wheezes had been vandalized. Molly had been beside herself, but that was really her general status since the war.

Even so, Hermione felt relatively safe. She had her wand strapped to her forearm and wore a very special, very useful hairpin. That was really all the safety she could expect, or ask for.

She was going to meet Harry and Ron at The Three Broomsticks. She was fine with meeting Harry, but she was getting a little fed up, with Ron's pushiness. Just because Harry and Ginny were riding happily into the sunset, it didn't mean they had to do the same. She had trouble looking at him in that way. Gods, she had tried, but it just didn't work. He had a hard time realizing that.

The three of them had been visiting Hogsmeade to check on the rebuilding of the village and the castle, but they had split up. She to the bookshop and Harry and Ron to Quality Quiddich Supplies.

That suited her just fine. She didn't really understand the need to spend 45 minutes looking at broomstick polish. Books however were something else. Five types of polish, the boys said, but there were millions of types of books, ready to take you anywhere.

She was supposed to be dyslexic, but then again, she was supposed to be a lot of things. The running theory was that magic had fixed that part, thank the Gods. Reading was her lifeline, and her knowledge had saved them on numerous occasions. Of course, all her knowledge didn't come from books. Some things need to be lived in person, but knowing what you're dealing with, is generally better, before charging in. She had been in some hairy situations over the years, and it always pays to be prepared. No matter what, knowing your enemy would always be an advantage.

She was walking through the small cobblestone streets, and had almost reached the pub, when she saw a familiar face, that was completely out of place.

Standing near the fountain across the square was a young man looking directly at her, with a very serious expression.

He was taller and broader than the last time she saw him. Granted, last time she saw him, he was basically anorexic. That was five years ago. But there he stood, dressed in black, looking gorgeous.

Nico di fucking Angelo.

She could see the boys waving at her through the window of the pub, but she really had no choice but to send them an apologetic glance and walk up to the mysterious young man.

And slap him. Hard.

"Where in Hades, have you been?!" She hissed.

He chuckled. And smiled crookedly, seemingly not at all affected by the rather hard slap he just received. Infuriating bastard.

"Funny choice of words, Princess."

She blushed, having momentarily forgotten that this was probably exactly the place he had been spending his time.

He took both her hands and looked at her, suddenly serious. He hesitated, as if he couldn't find his words.

"This isn't a social call, is it?" she whispered.

"I would have come for you either way, but no. Unfortunately, it isn't."

"Are your friends okay?" She felt a cold sense of dread settling in her stomach.

"For now, but things are going to shit fast. I need to bring you in. It's not safe for you anymore. Not even in the magical community, and it isn't safe for them. We need get away from here, fast." He said urgently.

Hermione sighed heavily. So much for a normal day.

"All right Ghost King. Sweep me off my feet."

He grinned and led her away by her hand.

…

Harry and Ron had gotten tired of waiting. They exited the pub just in time to see their best friend being led away into the shadows behind a house, hand in hand with a strange guy who didn't look at all benign. Especially judging by the black sword hanging by his side.

Harrys face went white. Rons just turned an alarming shade of hot pink.

As soon as they turned around the corner Harry and Ron sprinted after them. Only to find the alley completely empty.

"Who the hell was that guy?!" Ron exploded.

"I don't know! Maybe a Death Eater?"

"I don't think so. They looked pretty cozy didn't they." Ron was now almost purple.

"I think we need to contact the aurors. Don't you feel it? I get the creeps from just standing here. There's got to be dark magic involved. It doesn't make any sense!"

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but why would she go with him if he was a Death Eater?"

"Maybe she was under the Imperius curse" Harry said, wide eyed.

"But he didn't look like any Death Eater we know, and Hermione can throw off the Imperius without even trying. She probably just got another boyfriend or something" Ron ground out.

"Again, it doesn't make any sense. She was supposed to meet us here. Why would she want to meet us here, only to go with someone else?"

"I don't know, but can't she take care of herself? She doesn't need us." Ron sulked.

Harry sighed. "Ron, you're not together, you know that, right?"

"But we should be! Everyone thinks so!"

"No. You wouldn't be right for each other like that. You would only end up resenting each other, ruining your friendship."

"You don't know that!" Ron exploded. "We're meant to be! She just needs to give us a chance! I know, I could make her happy!"

Harry, who was used to his friend's temper, figured it was time for a change in subject.

"Maybe, I don't know, but right now, she might be in danger. We should go see the aurors."

He took Ron's arm, and apparated away.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione loved shadow travel. Apparating was nauseating at best. Being squeezed through a rubber tube was not the most comfortable way to travel. Then again, neither was shadow travel. The difference was, that where apparating was constricting, shadow travel was liberating. She would never grow tired of it.

Unfortunately, Nico _did_ get tired. He was staggering, going to lean against a tree, in the park they had landed in.

"Where are we?" She asked him.

"A small place in Maine"

"Maine!? Wow you must have really practiced. I remember in the beginning you could barely do it across town above ground."

"And believe it or not – I actually prepared this time. Booked a room at a small bed and breakfast a couple of streets from here."

"Oh, wow! Count me impressed!" she said cheekily.

She remembered one time, he had crashed, basically mid-flight. They had come out, behind a newspaper stand, almost in plain sight. Hermione had to drag him with her into a back alley, hide him behind a dumpster, defending them from two cyclopes, while Nico was snoring behind her.

They started to make their way towards the bed and breakfast. As impressive as it was, shadow travelling from Scotland to Maine, it made Nico completely exhausted. He even had to lean on Hermione for some of the way, which wasn't easy for her, considering his increase in size since she last saw him. Five years really made a difference.

The lady at the desk looked very suspicious at the young people entering. Hermione supposed that Nico probably looked drunk, which would be frowned upon, considering that it was about noon, local time. They finally stumbled through the door to the room. Nico promptly collapsed on the bed snoring before his head had even reached the pillow.

She took his shoes off and covered him with the blanket. He was still fully clothed, but she could easily see, he had gone through a huge transformation. She almost hadn't recognized him if it hadn't been for that aura of death he was generally surrounded by.

Before he had been painfully thin. She had seen him once without a shirt on, last time they were together. They had been ambushed by centaurs. Not the friendly kind. Nico had taken an arrow to the shoulder and she had to dig it out physically, before giving him nectar and ambrosia. She had almost cried back then, and not only because he almost died.

She knew he had been a mess and wasn't taking care of himself. She had tried taking care of him, but one day he had just disappeared. She had been so angry with him, and worried. He had promised to come back, but he never did. She tried reaching via Iris-message, but she eventually ran out of gold drachmas and she had no way of getting more. No one else knew about her after all.

It was incredible how five years had come and gone, and everything was different. Physically he had changed almost completely, and she could tell that he held himself with just a little more confidence. There was also a hardness in his eyes that hadn't been there before. He had been sad and way too bitter for a 13-year-old, when she had first met him, and he had a depression that was clear to everyone who paid a bit of attention

Now he looked like a young man, who had seen too much. That wasn't surprising considering his parentage and his own hobby of raising the dead. She had an unpleasant feeling, it was more than that though.

At the same time, he was exactly the same. The same smile, the same darkness and they had the same comfort between them. She still trusted him implicitly.

She wondered a bit on why that was. She couldn't trust Ron anymore after he had abandoned her and Harry during the Horcrux hunt. It was a problem between them. She knew Ron wanted a relationship, but she couldn't. Not after he abandoned them when they needed him the most, but no matter how many times she said no, it just didn't register with him.

Nico was different. Yes, she had been angry and yes, she had felt abandoned, but she was 90 percent certain that he didn't do it on purpose. He wouldn't do that. He always insisted on keeping his promises. It was just one of the things she admired about him.

She realized, she had been standing, staring at him for quite some time, and she started feeling awkward. Before, if he crashed after shadow travelling, she would guard him, but usually that happened in an empty alley or on a park bench. Here they were safe. Or at least as safe as demigods could be.

She walked around a bit, checking out the room, setting up protective enchantments, making the room virtually impenetrable. By now, they were so ingrained in her, that she had trouble not casting, whenever she wasn't moving. Even just sitting down for dinner at the Broomsticks, she would have had a hard time, refraining.

Paranoia was sometimes her best friend and worst enemy. It was good in small doses, but she had to be careful, not to end up like Mad-Eye Moody.

Being cautious could save your life, but it could also prevent you from living it, and after seeing the Underworld, she had sworn to live life to its fullest.

She stood for a while, idly watching Nico's chest, moving up and down.

In the end, she decided she might as well get some rest too. She kicked off her shoes, took off her jacket and curled up beside him on the bed.

She tried not to blush, but she couldn't help but feel like a ridiculous school girl. She wondered if he ever knew, how flustered she could get around him. Mostly, at the moment, she just felt comfortable. The familiar dark thrum of power emanating from his heart, was something she had dearly missed.

With that thought, she fell asleep, dreaming about their common past.


	3. Chapter 3

When Nico woke up, he surprisingly found himself wrapped around a distinctly female body, which was a rather foreign sensation for him.

For a long time in his teens, he had been confused. Did he like girls or did he like boys? The answer was simple and in the same time complex.

He liked boys. That was for certain. It had taken him a long time to accept that fact. It had been hard for him. He was a strange guy to start with, people were generally scared of him. And for a kid from the 40's, being gay was basically unthinkable.

It didn't help his state of mind, that there was this one girl. The one currently sleeping in his arms. She did things to him, that he could never hope to analyze. She was the exception to the rule. Generally, girls were odd. And ridiculously complicated. They were always strangely unbalanced. Not the insane kind of unbalanced (although in some cases...)

Most of the ones he had met, were insecure and rather dependent on their boyfriends. Sure, it was probably endearing to some, but mostly he just found it annoying and pathetic. So, what if your hair isn't perfect? So, what if your boyfriend happens to be friends with another girl?

It was either insecurity or arrogance, and he didn't want either one.

Hermione was perfectly balanced though. She was confident but not arrogant. She was beautiful, but not perfect. Her hair was still atrocious.

She was intelligent, more so than Annabeth, he thought but she didn't rub it in other people's faces. At least not on purpose.

Nothing had ever come out of it in the months they spent together. Sure, they had hugged, they held hands, but they had never kissed. He had been deeply fascinated by her, but he had also been too confused, and too scared. He was still confused, although not as much. He still needed to get some things straight inside his mind, though. (No pun intended)

He had been happy for a while with Will. In a way, he was a lot like Hermione. Definitely just as bossy. The problem was that he and Will were never really on the same page. Of course, it didn't help that he was keeping a big secret. He could never have told anyone about Hermione. Not even Hazel. He had sworn it on the river Styx.

He supposed Will must have suspected something. Their break was very amicable. They were still great friends, but Nico's head (and probably heart) was somewhere else. By some kind of miracle Will understood that, and didn't resent him for it. He was now seeing Joseph, a son of Mercury from Camp Jupiter.

Hermione was what kept him going through Tartarus. He had promised to come back to her, but once he came out on the other side, and they had finally beat Gaia, he couldn't find her anymore. She was somehow shielded from him. It wasn't until last month that he found her. When he finally did, he kept trying to find the perfect moment to approach her, but it never came. Instead Percy had thrown them a bucket of shit last week, so now he didn't have any choice.

Had it really been five years? Huh. Time really flies when you're fighting to survive.

They had a lot they needed to talk about. A lot had happened in the world of demigods that she needed to know. The war with Gaia for instance.

Percy. The idiot.

It looked like there were some things he needed to be informed of as well. She definitely had more scars than last time he saw her. He was especially interested in the half-healed ones on her neck and forearm. Maybe Will could take a look when they reached Camp Jupiter.

She began stirring, and he pretended to be waking up at the same time, so she wouldn't notice he had been staring at her like a creep. She was sitting up, when he opened his eyes and he couldn't help but find her adorable. Her hair was plastered to her face on one side and the other looked like it might try to eat her at any moment.

"Morning, Princess."

She snorted. "I think it's more like afternoon"

"Huh. It's hard to tell. Anyways. It should give us some time to talk and get some food. The next jump is to San Francisco, so that's a what. Four-hour jump?"

"Probably. Time zones aren't within my area of expertise. "

Now it was Nicos turn to snort. "That's just a fancy way of saying you don't know, right?"

"What's in San Francisco anyways? I thought you said the camp was at Long Island."

"Well, there have been some developments. A lot of things have happened in the last five years." That silenced the both of them

"Tell me. Why didn't you come back." Hermione whisered eventually.

She looked so vulnerable at that moment. He realized, that maybe he meant more to her than he had thought. That shouldn't have been surprising him. He had found out a while ago, that may be not everyone hated him or thought him a nuisance. He should have realized that Hermione cared a lot sooner. She had definitely tried hard enough to show him all those years ago.

It was surprising that she still cared though.

"I had meant to come back. Honestly. There were a lot of things I didn't tell you, that I probably should have. There was this prophecy"

"Oh for crying out loud! I have had it with damn prophecies!"

Nico chuckled "Dam prophecies? Doesn't matter. You're probably going to get used to that. We get them all the time. I'm curious how you came across one though."

"One? Try a million."

"How in Hades did you come across a million prophecies?" He asked, incredulous.

"Well. Apparently one was made about Harry. Remember I told you about him? Oh gods, I forgot to tell him I was leaving! He's going to be so worried! I need to call him or something."

"We'll do that when we leave here. Back to prophecies?"

"Right. Sorry. Got sidetracked. Whenever a prophecy is made, it's recorded and sent to the hall of prophecies."

"Wizards have a hall of prophecies?"

She looked rather uncomfortable. "Well. Not anymore..."

"Okay. I'm going to get that story later. But there was this big prophecy here. They called it Prophecy of the Seven. It went like this 'Seven half-bloods shall answer the call, to storm or fire the world must fall, an oath to keep with a final breath, and foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.' It was a very important prophecy. The world depended on it."

"It does sound rather grim. Who were the seven?"

"I told you about Camp Half-blood, because that's where you would belong. Remember I told you about my sister, Hazel? It's kind of complicated, but she is a daughter of Pluto, not Hades. It's difficult to explain, but the gods have different aspects. Most of them have a Greek aspect and a Roman one. That means that their kids can also be either Greek or Roman. The Greeks are sent to Camp Half-blood, but there is another camp called Camp Jupiter, where the Romans are. The Greeks and Romans have always had a tense relationship, so the gods agreed to keep them secret from one another. They were close to civil war a couple of years ago, but they had to join forces. The seven had to be a mix of Greek and Roman."

She was listening intently, absorbing information, and so he told her about trying to locate the Doors of Death through the Underworld. He told her about Tartarus (Without going into details, although he could see he didn't have her fooled). He told her about being trapped by the twins, Annabeth and Percy falling into Tartarus. He told her about Argo II, about the crew and all the events that lead to the final battle at Half-blood Hill.

"That sounds incredible. It's amazing how we didn't even know the world was falling apart."

"I tried to find you after the battle, but I couldn't. Not until, like, a month ago."

And then it dawned on her.

"The protection spells. Of course! After fourth year, I was almost always under some form of protection or concealment charm. They increased the spells on the school as well."

"Then why didn't you contact me?"

"Well, I did try. But I think I must have spent all my drachmas, trying to Iris-message you while you were in Tartarus."

"They didn't have great reception down there" He tried to joke about it, but even though it had been a couple of years, it still felt fresh, and his chuckle sounded forced.

She looked like she might start to ask more questions about Tartarus, but luckily her stomach chose that moment to make a growl. Thank the gods.

"Well, it sounds like we need to get ready to find something to eat!" he hurried to say and escaped to the bathroom.


	4. Chapter 4

"Just describe him for me, one more time."

Harry was getting tired of this. They were wasting valuable time. Hermione could be halfway across the globe by now, but they insisted, he had to tell the story for the third time.

"This is ridiculous. He was kind of tall I guess. Taller than me, but shorter than Ron. He was creepy like hell. He was really pale, with black, kind of messy hair. He was dressed completely in black, even had this creepy black sword, I've never seen anything like it. He had to be a Death Eater. He even had a skull on his damn t-shirt!"

"And you're sure she didn't know him?" the annoying Auror asked.

"I don't think so. I don't know. They looked friendly enough, but we are Hermione's best friends! She couldn't have some friend we didn't know about. She would tell us, right?"

Ron just stood in the corner, sulking. He didn't like the possibility of her keeping secrets from them either, but Ron took it personally. It was looking more and more likely that it really was someone she knew. They had been looking at pictures of Death Eaters and their relatives for hours, but there were none that looked like him. Could still have been a supporter from a foreign country though.

He felt bad that he didn't know what he preferred. Either Hermione had been abducted or she had been keeping secrets. Neither of those things sat well with him. They were best friends. They weren't supposed to keep secrets from each other.

"There was something wrong with him though. There was this strange dark feeling about him, and when we went after them behind that house, there was this really creepy feeling. It was almost like standing near the Veil."

That feeling was what worried him the most. The cold sense of darkness in that place. It sent shivers down his spine, and it didn't make sense. And what did it even mean? Were there other ways to the veil? And had that guy pulled her through it?

"And who the hell runs around with a bloody sword anyways?" Ron felt the need to add.

"Thing is" Harry said "We have no way of knowing where they might have gone. They must have apparated, even if we didn't hear the sound that usually comes with apparition. Just that creepy cold feeling, but no matter how they did it, they could still be anywhere by now!"

"Mr. Potter, I understand you may be frustrated, but without signs of a struggle we have no reason to suspect foul play as of yet. You will need to wait 48 hours, and if your friend hasn't turned up by then, we can start a real investigation."

"She is a bloody war hero!" Harry hissed.

"She is a war hero, my best friend and a muggleborn! She is a prime target for escaped Death Eaters! We'll wait 24 hours, no more. If you won't start the search by then, we'll launch our own. How do you think that will look in the newspapers? 'War hero missing – Aurors office not taking actions?'" He raged.

With that, he stormed out of the Head Aurors office, Ron shuffling along behind him.

He strode purposefully through the halls of the ministry, towards Kingsley Shacklebolt's office. As acting Minister of Magic, he ought to be able to help them.

He slammed the doors open and marched inside to be met with Kingsley sitting calmly at his desk. The only indication that he noticed Harry's dramatic entrance was a lifted eyebrow

"Are you quite finished with your tantrum or do you need another ten minutes to rant?" He asked, in his deep baritone voice.

Harry huffed but threw himself in one of the two armchairs in front of the desk. Ron sighed and sat in the other.

"Merlin, Ron. This is a mess. What the hell are we going to tell Ginny?" Harry asked, rubbing his face

"I think I'll leave that to you, honestly. As long as I'm not in the house."

"What are we going to do Kings?"

Harry was all out of steam by now, and sounded more like a small child than the savior of the wizarding world.

"I received a memo from the Head Auror. The standard is, as he said 48 hours before starting a search, but I agree with you that it would be better not to waste too much time. As you suggested, we will wait 24 hours before we start the search, but we can still prepare for it during those 24 hours."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked

"When Sirius had escaped Azkaban, we were caught on the wrong foot. We had no way of knowing, if he was hiding in Hogsmeade or Hong Kong. We knew he was intelligent and resourceful, after all, many of us knew him personally. He was well known throughout the wizarding world, so it would make sense for him to stay away from large wizarding settlements. Odds were, that he would be hiding in the muggle world. We sent out flyers and pictures to national television channels, all over the globe, with contact information, leading directly to the ministry."

"Muggle media?" Ron asked skeptically.

"Muggle media exactly. That is our best bet. We'll need some photos of Hermione, which we can probably get from the Prophet, but Harry, are you familiar with the concept of a sketch artist? Muggles often use them in situations like these."

The next hours were hard. They needed to set up an office, away from the ministry, to avoid magical interference, when trying to set up a hotline. They needed to brief the people manning it, and plan cover stories.

Harry was given an office number on a slip of paper, and was told to go to meet the sketch artist.

He was pretty skeptical about the whole thing. He wished, not for the first time, that there was some way of photographing a memory, but there wasn't one.

Maybe Hermione could develop a way, when she came back.

'If she came back' An annoying little voice in the back of his head told him.


	5. Chapter 5

Hermione looked in the mirror and sighed. Thank Hecate for magic. There was a fine line between curls and frizz, and she was grateful to have found a way to pass it. She pulled her hair into a ponytail, and shoved her hairpin into it. It had been hard listening to Nico's story. The life of a demigod was never easy, but Nico's had been downright cruel. He had been suffering, when she met him, but it was hard to imagine, what he had gone through since then. Tartarus. She also had a feeling, that his sacrifices went rather unappreciated. He wasn't one of the seven, but she was quite certain, that if not for Nico, the world would be no more.

Knowing him, he probably didn't see it that way. Maybe he had grown, but she was pretty sure that he was still insecure, at least on some level. From the time, she met him, he had been self-conscious about being the son of Hades. It had been hard for him to accept, that she didn't care about that. She still wondered, if he knew just how much she cared about him though. He often came of as dismissive and cold, but he could be caring and gentle. He just needed a little push. Okay, a hard shove.

When he exited the bathroom, she was struck again, by how handsome he had gotten. He was so tall now, and his black hair had grown. She was trying very hard, not to notice, how tight that t-shirt was around his biceps. He was looking at her strangely, and she suddenly felt rather self-conscious.

"All yours" he said, and she scurried through the bathroom door, anxious to hide her red cheeks.

After freshening up in the bathroom, she returned, and they made ready to go. Hermione didn't dare send a Patronus near so many muggles, so the plan was to borrow the phone at the desk before leaving. Mr. Weasley had finally convinced Molly to get a landline. If he had managed to actually install it properly, she didn't know.

"I think there are some cafés near that park we landed in, we could get something to eat there."

"Good. I'm famished."

He had just opened the door, when – _WHIISH_ – a black spike passed Hermione's ear with the speed of sound and impaled itself in the wall behind them.

"Oh, Styx." Nico grumbled.

"I heard you had been through Tartarus. I was terribly disappointed that you didn't come to see me."

Nico would recognize that accent anywhere.

He looked exactly as Nico remembered. One brown eye and one blue, his mouth stretched in a wicked smile, that never failed to send shivers down Nico's back.

But that was the point of monsters. They were supposed to be immortal, to never change. How else would they remind you of your own mortality.

His very first monster. Dr. Thorn.

"And I see you brought a friend? She smells positively… divine." The monster purred, taking a step closer inhaling deeply… Creep.

While Dr. Thorn was momentarily distracted by Hermione, Nico took the opportunity to slowly draw a stygian iron dagger, he had hidden at the small of his back. He loved his sword, but it wasn't exactly great for stealth or close combat, and Dr. Thorn stood uncomfortably close in a narrow hallway. He just had to work that to his advantage.

Nico took Hermione's hand and squeezed it, sending her a silent message. He just hoped she understood. They had done this before, but that was a long time ago.

Apparently, she did, because she ducked, when he charged, knife first, and slammed Dr. Thorn into the hallway wall, effectively pinning the scorpion tail behind him, so he couldn't shoot any more spikes.

Hermione then pulled out her hairpin and twisted it in her hand, revealing it to be a celestial bronze sword with a leather covered hilt and black, swirling engravings on the double-edged blade.

Dr. Thorn gave an inhuman growl. Nico had stabbed him in the side, with his knife. Not enough to kill him, but enough to slow him down. The scorpion tail had gotten stuck in the plaster, but they all knew it wouldn't stay stuck for long.

"RUN!" Hermione screamed. Nico took her hand and they bolted down the hallway. Nico took a second to look back and saw Dr. Thorn starting to transform into the full manticore he knew was hiding beneath the otherwise human exterior.

They ran through the reception (so much for making a phone call), out into the street. They could hear the Manticore roar behind them. Hermione wondered absently, what other people heard. If they could even hear it.

They ran down the street. Hermione glanced back, to see the Manticore, now on all fours, charging towards them.

"Nico, into the shadows, now!" She ordered.

Nico pulled Hermione along by the hand into the shadow of a nearby building.

When they walked out of the shadows, they were standing at the entrance to Camp Jupiter.

Even if she had just faced a dangerous monster, it wasn't until now she felt really nervous. Scratch that – she was terrified. She felt like her entire body had gone rigid and her stomach and throat were constricting. She was certain, that if she had had anything to eat, she would have vomited. In a way, she supposed she ought to be thankful to the monster for interrupting their dinner plans.

It would be her first time meeting other demigods other than Nico. She might see her half-brother today.

Nico seemed to sense her distress. He pulled her into a hug. "We don't have to do this right now. Let's go to get something to eat like we planned and we'll return when you're ready" he whispered into her ear. "There are still things we need to talk about."

Hermione didn't know what to feel about that. She was pretty sure, he was going to want her version of the last five years. She wasn't sure she was ready to talk about it yet.

It was different with him, though. Maybe it would help. He knew horrors enough to relate.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you very very much for your kind reviews. As for the thing about longer chapters – you're right. I just separate the chapters the way it feels right for the story (at least it feels right in my head) But I feel like I make up for it by posting often. Please keep reviewing. It really means a lot to me!**

Harry sat, looking at Luna with a deadpan expression. He, of all people, knew not to underestimate his eccentric friend, but this might have been a bit of a stretch. They were sitting in a small room, dimly lit, with most of the light being pointed at Luna's sketch pad. They were sitting in armchairs and the air was heavy with incence. All in all it reminded him of divination with Trelawney. He could already feel a pressing headache.

They needed this though, so he decided to play along.

"All right, Harry. If you could just lean back in the chair and relax for me please, that would be lovely.

"But I AM relaxed."

"No you're not. You're fidgeting and your aura is all yellow.

Harry sighed angrily and slumped a bit more into the squishy armchair. "There. Fine?"

"Not entirely, but that will do. Now, describe him for me."

"Oh, Merlin. This is the fourth time today." he muttered under his breath. "Well. He was a bit taller than me, but not by much. He had messy, black hair. He was really really pale."

"What about his face? Was it long or round-"

"He had a kind of pointy chin. And he had prominent.. what do you call them.. cheekbones? I guess his face was kind of long-ish. But not in a way that stood out. His lips were kind of thin, I think. He had very dark eyes. Almost black. And he had dark rings around his eyes too."

Harry didn't think his description had been all that great, but when he saw Luna's drawing, he was in awe. She might as well have drawn the guy from a photo. She even got the skull t-shirt right…

"Wait a minute. You used legilimency on me!" He accused.

"I'm sorry, Harry. It really was the best way. When you try to focus on describing him, it becomes clearer when I use legilimency, but had you known I was trying to enter your mind, you would have automatically tried to deflect, and push me out." Luna muttered dejectedly.

Harry really hated when people entered his mind, especially without permission. He had bad experiences with that. He trusted Luna though, and try as he might, he just couldn't be mad at Luna.

"What's going to happen now, then?"

"I'll give this to Kingsley. He's collecting a folder with all the information we need to start the search. Maybe you should try to get some rest. You still have a couple of hours."

It wasn't until then, Harry felt how exhausted he was. He really hadn't slept well. He was still staying at the Burrow. He knew he had to start working on fixing up Grimmauld Place, but he enjoyed the warmth and comfort of the Weasleys.

He managed to drag himself out of Luna's "office" and stumbled through the nearest fireplace. He landed in the living room of the Burrow. When he collapsed on the sofa, the last conscious thought he had before falling asleep, was wondering if maybe Ginny would like to come with him to Grimmauld Place. He smiled at the thought of that, as his eyes drew shut and he started snoring.

 **San Francisco**

"Oh gods, yes!" Hermione moaned after taking a long sip through the straw of her soda.

Nico sat down across from her, with his own tray. For a while he just sat there, eating his hamburger, and fiddling with the toy from his Happy Meal. Oh yes, Ghost King, Prince of the Underworld. Looking tough with his My Little Pony figurine.

"So, you said something about increased security at your school. What happened?" he finally asked.

She had been prepared for this question. Or at least she thought she had been prepared. How could she summarize the last five years in a way that wouldn't take days?

"War happened." She finally choked out.

"We spoke about Voldemort before, remember? The guy who tried to become immortal. Well, he kind of succeeded. He was resurrected about four years ago. We didn't defeat him until about a month ago. We had a lot of casualties and we spent almost a year on the run… I was tortured. About a month and a half ago. It was nowhere near what I imagine Tartarus was like, but I don't think I'm entirely ready to talk about it yet. At least not over dinner. Or lunch. Or whatever it is we're eating. How do you even keep track with shadow travelling?"

The idea of her being tortured made his blood boil. He was certain, that had he still been fourteen, a whole mariachi band of ghosts would have given concert at McDonald's, but miraculously he kept his cool. He even managed to place a calm hand over hers.

"Don't worry about it, Princess. We can talk about it anytime you want."

He felt very impressed with himself.

"You still haven't told me what's going on actually. I just went with you."

Nico sighed. "After the Titan war, Percy made a deal with the gods. He turned down godhood and in turn he asked that all the demigod children be claimed, that there would be more consideration of the minor gods and goddesses. He also asked for the freedom of Calypso from Ogygia. Zeus agreed, but he wasn't happy with Percy. He felt bad, having to rely on a demigod to save the world. He told Percy to stay out of the air, and said that he wouldn't hesitate to fry him to a crisp, should he ever try flying again.

During the war against Gaia, Zeus was humiliated even more. This time both by Percy's involvement and his own incapacity, due to being extremely schizophrenic."

"Okay? But then what's the problem now?"

Nico ran a hand through his hair "Percy violated the airspace." he deadpanned.

Hermione snorted. "Violated the airspace? You make it sound like he's a jumbo jet."

Nico looked at her solemnly. "Zeus shot the plane out of the sky. Percy survived, but his future father in law was severely injured. Percy was arrogant and too rebellious. He destabilized the entire pantheon! A large part of me agrees with him. Zeus was never one to keep his promises, but he always expected others to uphold them. Calypso was left on Ogygia, a lot of the minor gods still weren't acknowledged."

"But that's old news. Everyone knows that about Zeus. He tried to kill you and Bianca, he wanted to kill Percy too, but he was still had kids of his own despite the agreement between the three brothers."

"I know. But no one ever dared demand of him to keep his promises. That's what Percy is trying to do. Zeus disrespected their agreement, and now Percy showed the same disrespect. Poseidon is taking his son's side, and Zeus is getting increasingly paranoid. The other gods are taking sides. My father acts as a go-between. It was smarter to get you to camp before Zeus found you and wiped Britain off the map. It was just a matter of time until they found you. We can protect you better at camp."

With that he stood up with his tray, walking to the trash can, beckoning her towards the door.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you so much for your reviews! They contain some great questions. I'll try to answer them to my best ability.**

 **I'd like to make longer chapters too, I'm just crap at that. I try to make up for it by posting often instead. I'll try though, but no promises.**

 **Suzululu4moe: Wizards cannot be harmed by Celestial Bronze. They are blessed by Hecate, not descended from her.**

 **It's true, Harry could have probably used a pensieve for part of the interrogation, but they didn't use memories for his trial after the dementor attack or for Sirius' trial, so I didn't put it in. Also, they needed something to give the muggle media, and you can't take a photo of a memory.**

 **She didn't use her abilities to escape, because she hasn't built her demigod powers yet. It took a while for the others to master their abilities too.**

 **AACM25: I think you're right. I don't think Hermione is smarter than Annabeth either, but I think Nico likes her intelligence. He doesn't like Annabeth though, so he might be biased.**

 **I hope you will keep reviewing and stay with the story ;)**

Hermione's head was buzzing with all the information. The gods were at the brink of civil war. She didn't like to think about what that might mean for human civilization. She was grateful that Nico came for her. He was right, that Zeus would spare no civilians. Mythology had taught her that.

"Are you ready?" he asked. That was a good question, but she took his offered hand anyways and they made their way towards the camp.

On the way, they started catching up like friends, rather than soldiers. Hermione told him about luring Umbridge into the forbidden forest, he told her stories about the different camps and how they worked. In the end they shadow traveled directly into New Rome.

As they walked through the streets, people got the surprise of a lifetime. Nico di Angelo, walking through the streets, talking and laughing, hand in hand, with a girl no less.

True, he had come out of his shell a bit, but he still preferred staying in the shadows. Yet here he was, walking down the street like a normal guy.

Another puzzling thing was the girl. No one had seen her before, and seeing him doing such a small intimate gesture, like holding her hand sent most people's heads spinning. It was widely known, that Nico di Angelo had been in a stable relationship with Will Solace a while ago.

Nico was in the middle of a story about an argument he had with Terminus, the god of borders, about unlicensed shadow travel, when a voice called out.

"Nico!"

Nico turned towards the voice with a disgruntled look on his face, and saw Frank Zhang jogging towards him.

"Praetor." Nico nodded politely, with a teasing smirk. No matter how long, Frank still felt uncomfortable being reminded of his powerful position.

"Where have you been this past week? We needed you" Frank asked, seemingly not registering that there was a foreign girl stading next to his girlfriend's brother.

Hermione had momentarily forgotten about her nerves, but now they returned full force. She was great with knowledge and fighting. People – not so much. Especially people she didn't know, and no one could prepare her for the introductions she had to make over the next couple of days.

"I needed to find someone." Nico said. It wasn't until then, Frank noticed her.

"But, who is she?" Then he looked down at their clasped hands and his eyes widened comically.

"I'd rather we did this properly with everyone present" Nico grumbled

"I'm Hermione." If there was one thing Hermione hated more than her nerves, it was when people talked about her like she wasn't there.

"I'm – I'm Frank." Frank managed to stammer out.

"Frank, can you help me get everyone together to talk about the situation?" Nico asked, getting slightly agitated.

"Um, sure. Go to the principia. Some of them might be there already."

They walked towards the imposing building. Hermione was reminded of Gringotts and her cheeks reddened. The goblins still wouldn't let her near the bank, and they sneered at her every time she passed them in the street or at the ministry. Goblins never forget.

That was one of the first times she used some of her powers. If she hadn't shaken the ground loose, they would have never survived going through the floor. A few localized earthquakes had also helped tremendously at the final battle.

So far, she had only managed to keep, what she liked to call her bonus abilities, under control. She had always had great self-discipline, which had saved her, her school career (and probably the world). Nico still made the grass wither, when he was nervous. It was adorable, really.

What she needed now, was honing her skills, building her power, for maximum control. It was risky business though, and should probably be done, somewhere remote and uninhabited.

The principia was beautiful, no doubt about that. In the middle of the room stood a long wooden table. It was covered, with papers, maps, and what looked like the reconstruction of the Sibylline Books, (Thank you, Ella the harpy)

In between the sheets of paper, stood plates with half-eaten meals, writing utensils of varying sorts and a tiny statuette of Apollo, for some reason.

In one of the chairs, Reyna Ramirez-Arellano sat, looking like she hadn't slept for days. She looked slightly disheveled, which was a testament to the severity of the situation. Romans didn't do disheveled. Also in the room were Percy, Leo and Calypso.

They all looked relieved to see Nico, but their relief turned to confusion when they saw he wasn't alone. At that moment, Hazel burst through the door and engulfed her brother in a rib-crushing hug. Frank followed behind her, Annabeth at his side.

When Hazel released Nico, she punched him in the shoulder. Hermione winced. That had bound to hurt. "The least you could do was telling me where you went! You just disappeared again! Last time you just disappeared, you almost died!" she cried, sounding like she couldn't quite decide if she should be angry or relieved. Hermione could relate.

"But the big question is," Reyna started, looking intently at Hermione "Who are you?"

"She needs protection. " Nico interrupted

"I don't want- " Hermione tried to protest.

"You _need_ protection, end of discussion"

"I'm not some damsel in distress!" She snapped back. "You better remember that."

"I'm Hermione. I came from Britain-"

"Oh, this is awesome! Blimey! Bloody Wicked, loo!" Leo felt the need to half-shout, in a horrible imitation of a British accent

Hermione just stared at him, slightly disturbed.

"Wait a minute, there are camps in Britain too?" Percy asked Nico accusingly.

Nico sighed. He knew Percy was going to hate him, for having kept even more secrets. Especially this one.

"No. There is a special community in Britain that carry the blessing of Hecate. My dad sent me there years ago, where I found Hermione."

"So she's like a mortal who can work the Mist?"

"Not entirely" Hermione inserted. "The people Hecate blessed have a slightly different magic than what you do with the Mist. It has its own set of rules."

"I don't get it."

"Well, the people of Hecate has their own branch of magic, but Hermione is both a demigod and is blessed by Hecate" Nico tried explaining

"Very dangerous to be you. Then, who is your godly parent?"

Hermione hesitated. Nico squeezed her hand and looked at her encouragingly.

She looked Percy in the eye, gulped, and whispered "Poseidon."


	8. Chapter 8

_Nico was bored out of his mind_

 _His dad had sent him on a mission. Apparently, Hecate had blessed some people in Britain a millennium ago and they had built their own community. Hades had previously had some trouble with_ _some idiot trying to become immortal. He needed Nico to check it out, to see if the community had stabilized._

 _There was a school in Scotland that apparently taught kids how to use their magical abilities. It seemed, that this was the place all the action went down. He had spent a couple of weeks in the community, hiding in the shadows, observing. Wizards, while yes, their governmental structure left something to be desired, he didn't find any real evidence of immortal megalomaniacs. He was about to return to the underworld when he felt a power he really hadn't expected on this side of the pond._

 _A girl sat under a tree on the other side of the lake from where he stood. She had a book in her lap and was wearing a scrunched-up expression of concentration._

 _She was powerful. He could tell all the way from across the lake. The power was rolling of her in waves, and he could feel it resonating in his blood._

 _He felt drawn to her. She was cute looking in a way. Her cheeks were pink from being outside and her lips were red. Her eyes were deep brown, like rich dark chocolate. All things he never expected to notice on a girl. Her hair though, should have caught his attention first. He had never seen hair so wild. To any sort of description would fall short. In some places, it was curly and in some places pure frizz. He couldn't tell whether it was brown or golden or copper. It obviously had its own life, and it was feral._

 _Without meaning to, he started walking around the lake._

 _He approached her hesitantly from one side. He stopped a couple of times, thinking about, what to say to her._

" _If you're going to sit, just do it already. Your indecision is getting ridiculous."_

 _Bossy too, he added to list of information he was mentally storing about her. He trudged over and plopped down beside her._

" _Where are you from?" She asked him._ Good question _he thought. He wondered if he should tell her the truth. If she was, what she thought he was, at least some version of the truth would be best, to build trust, but there were some things that just didn't belong in an introduction like "_ Hi, I'm Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, so I spend a lot of my time in the Underworld." _He had tried that before. People would either scream and run, or offer to drive him to the nearest mental facility._

" _I would say America, but I'm originally from Italy. We moved many years ago," (you have no idea, how many) "I'm Nico. Di Angelo. Nico di Angelo" he stammered out. (smooth buddy)_

 _She gave him a crooked little smile and she stretched out her hand "Hermione Granger"_

 _He knew she must have been powerful for him to feel it, but when he took her hand, it was nothing like he expected. He felt her power surging through him and found himself unable to let go._

 _She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. "You're different. How?" Was all she said, suddenly serious. She must have felt it as well._

 _He couldn't speak, only feel. Her power was flowing through him, and he sat staring at her openmouthed._

 _It felt so different, yet disturbingly familiar._

 _He looked around, suddenly noticing small things he hadn't seen before. All the ripples in the water were turned towards her, from all sides, and even though it had rained recently, everywhere around her was dry. Then he realized where he had felt that kind of power._

 _Percy._

 _Maybe that was the key. Maybe he was just attracted to water. But then again – Tyson._

 _The heights which Zeus and Poseidon's hypocrisy had reached was really, rather impressive._

 _The three brothers had made a pact to have no more children after WW2._

 _No one ever trusted Hades, but he was actually the only one to hold the agreement. Nico was from the nineteen forties (loophole) but he had met both Thalia and Percy_

 _This was bad. They had just finished the war against the Titans and the relationship between the gods was unstable to say the least._

 _If Zeus found out that Poseidon had any more secret demigod children, it could mean civil war between the gods and destruction of human kind. Best case scenario, she would be roasted by lightning._

 _He really couldn't let that happen to an innocent girl. Not when it had been so close to happen for himself._

 _He had gone to the Underworld to speak with his father. He and Poseidon got along much better after saving the world and stuff._

 _His father was not at all surprised. Apparently, Poseidon had always had trouble keeping it in his pants._

 _Hades had gone to Poseidon, and they had agreed that it would be best to keep the girl hidden, especially with the additional powers she had from Hecate. Not only was she a symbol of Poseidon's disregard for the pact, Zeus might also see her as a threat. Fortunately, she was already rather well hidden by the enchantments of the castle, but now that she was getting older, monsters would take a larger interest in her. That meant that she would need more training. Especially if she were to survive the holidays._

 _Nico took the job. At first, he was reluctant. He wasn't really a trainer, and the girl made him nervous._

 _Then Hades had given him an offer he couldn't refuse. If he trained Hermione, Hazel would be resurrected._


	9. Chapter 9

Percy's mind drew a blank. Of all things in the world, this was too much for him to comprehend. It had been hard enough to learn about Tyson, but this was much more overwhelming. He didn't know what to do or say, so he did the intelligent thing and stormed out.

He walked down and threw himself into The Little Tiber. It probably looked strange, but it was the only place nearby, where he could sit alone and think. The only ones on the bottom the river were the Naiads, and they knew better than to disturb him when he was in a mood like this.

Truth was, that he was angry. Not even angry, he was incandescent. He wouldn't be surprised if the water started boiling around him.

He was angry with his father for being with another woman than his mom. He knew it was stupid though, and that he was being childish. She was still a couple of years younger than him. When it came to stuff like this, gods were weird. They could have multiple partners, and even be in several places at once. The size of Cabin Seven was evidence enough of that. They would need an expansion soon, if they ever returned to Camp Half-blood.

But she didn't even look like him! He thought petulantly. Then again, Jason didn't look like Thalia. And Hazel didn't look like Nico… Nico, that little shit. He had known. He had known about Camp Jupiter and hadn't told anyone. And now he had a sister, and Nico had known?

He felt betrayed, and deeply hurt.

Suddenly his sanctuary was disturbed. It felt like a current was grabbing hold of him. Taken by surprise, he didn't have time regain control, and before he knew it, the river spat him out on the bank.

He rolled over onto his back, and glared up into the unimpressed face of his new little sister.

"Are you done sulking?" she deadpanned.

"Where is Nico? I need to ask him something."

Hermione looked at him suspiciously. "Still at the principia with the others. I volunteered to get you."

"Let's get back inside then"

He strode purposefully back towards the principia, leaving Hermione at the river bank. Once inside, he walked up to Nico di Angelo and punched him in the face, without hesitation. "HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN?!" He bellowed.

Hermione walked in and gasped, when she saw the blood on Nico's face. She ran to him and turned to her brother with a thunderous expression, and ground shook with the faintest tremor. That got their attention.

"It was not our choice." she growled lowly. "Now, we are going to the infirmary, to fix Nico's nose. You guys are going to stay put until we get back and we can discuss this, like civilized people, or so help me, this building will not be standing by tonight. The earth gave a small after shake as an emphasis. With that, she took Nico's hand and they walked out, leaving a stunned group of people behind.

...

Infirmary, Nico thought. Crap.

"Um, Hermione, before we get to the infirmary, there's something you should know." he started, but she was distracted. Dragging him along, looking for signs to the infirmary and muttering things under her breath like, "idiot relative" "Neanderthal" and "as stupid as the kelp he is swimming in"

In the end, he decided to just stop abruptly, making her stumble comically. He smiled a little, but it turned into a wince, because damn that hurts. Percy packs a punch!

"Hermione!" "What!?" she snapped.

"I just wanted to tell you something. There is this healer working at the infirmary. We were dating a while back." He really tried, but he seriously could not imagine a worse place, for this conversation.

"Okay? But not anymore?" her eyes softened

"No, not for a while, but it's just that he's a guy. It's not because I don't like girls, I just –"

"Nico," she interrupted gently, with a small smile. "I know" He looked into her eyes and realised, that maybe she really did know.

"Now, which way to the infirmary?"

He pointed in the direction they had come from, and led her through the streets.

...

The infirmary or the Valetudinarium, was made almost entirely out of white marble. It was light and airy an smelled like disinfectant. A far cry, from the tiny infirmary at Camp Half-blood, which was his old territory. Will Solace had worked there for a year and a half now, but he still hadn't decided which was better. At least he was closer to his boyfriend.

He had been standing at a desk in the entrance hall looking through some paperwork, but was interrupted, when none other than his ex, Nico walked through the doors, with a what looked like a broken nose. At his side, was a girl Will had never seen before. They appeared deep in conversation. Nico pointed to the various frescoes on the walls as if explaining them to her. Not a local girl then.

"Hey Nico!" He decided to call out, walking down the steps to meet them. "Which wall did you run into man?"

"Percy Jacksons fist." he mumbled.

"Ouch!" Will winced. That couldn't have been fun. He asked them to follow him up the stairs into one of the wings.

"So, what did you do to deserve such a special treat from the son of Poseidon?" Nico looked to the girl, as if asking for permission. She hesitated, but nodded eventually. He pointed a thumb in her direction "The daughter of Poseidon." He looked at Nico and the girl curiously. "You've been doing the daughter of Poseidon?" he asked with a lifted eyebrow.

Nico's cheeks heated, when he realized he should have probably elaborated. Luckily Hermione saved him.

"What the idiot means is that he kept my existence a secret for the past five years, by the order of Hades and Poseidon himself. Actually, we should have probably told Percy that those two were involved, now that I think about it." she said pensively.

"I'm Hermione Granger by the way. Daughter of Poseidon" She stretched her hand towards Will.

Will shook her hand, and his mouth stretched in a grin. He looked to Nico. "She's British, and calls you an idiot. I approve" he said, winking at him.

Now it was Hermione's turn to blush.

"Now, let's check out Percy Jackson's handiwork." Will continued and led them to an examination room, where he ordered Nico to sit on the bed. Nico obliged, looking like he had gone through the action a million times. Which he probably had, Hermione thought.

The nose was broken, to no one's surprise. It was an easy fix though. Will gave him a bit of ambrosia, and a small splint across the bridge of his nose, to wear until the ambrosia had done its magic.

He made to leave, but Nico stopped him.

"Would you do me a favor and stick around?" He asked seriously. "We need to talk about the whole Zeus thing at the principia and we could really use your input."

"What could you possibly need me for? I suppose you're going to make battle plans. I'm a doctor, I don't do battle. You know that."

"I know, but this is more of a diplomatic issue, and we could probably use the help of Apollo."

Will sighed. "Diplomacy really isn't my dad's forte."

Hermione looked at Nico and wondered what kind of plans he hadn't told her about.

"Isn't yours either, as far as I recall." Nico bantered with a smirk.

"Alright, I'll help." Will grudgingly relented. "Just give me a minute to find someone to take over."

After he left the room, Nico surprised Hermione, by taking her hand and kissing it. I was overwhelming and her heart was racing, pounding in her chest, like it was trying to break out of her ribcage.

Nico looked up at her from the bed, trying to read her reaction.

She was too flustered to speak, much to Nico's satisfaction. She tried a couple of times, but failed, making her blush a bright crimson.

He started reaching the other hand towards her face, but were interrupted, when Will stumbled through the door.

"Lets go then" He grinned, perfectly aware that he had probably interrupted something.


	10. Chapter 10

**Just a small thing; I'm going to start incorporating bits and pieces from Trials of Apollo – The Hidden Oracle. If you haven't read it – I'm very sorry.**

By the time, they returned, Jason and Piper had arrived. Piper saw Hermione and Nico's clasped hands and looked like she might explode from delight.

Jason only looked at Hermione with a raised eyebrow and a wry smile. "So, Hermione Granger. You look like you're enjoying your kidnapping."

Hermione looked deeply confused. "kidnapping?"

"These were all over the place. I brought one back, because of the pretty drawing of our good friend Nico. You guys are famous." He replied, with a teasing grin.

Nico cursed colorfully. Hazel had slowly been getting used to the language of the modern world, but she still blushed. No one should say such things about the mother of a horse. She approved, when Hermione gave him a slap on the back of his head.

"I forgot to call them when we left the hotel."

"Well, as far as I remember, you were a bit preoccupied, Princess." Nico replied, smirking as he sat down on one of the chairs, placing his legs on the table.

"Oh do shut up, Pretty Boy." She snapped.

"Pretty Boy" Nico mouthed behind her back, looking deeply offended.

"Hey, Blondie!" she addressed Jason, who suddenly wasn't laughing anymore. "I'm going to need that after this."

"So!" Will started, rubbing his hands together "What are we doing here? Bring me up to speed."

Nico sighed, and they all sat down.

"Hermione, could you do that silencing thing? I think this is best not not overheard. Especially from above."

Hazel watched in fascination, as Hermione drew her wand and started casting the most powerful silencing charm she knew. It settled like a force field around them. Annabeth tried poking the shimmering curtain, trying to analyze its properties.

"Right then", Nico continued. "We all know that since the Titan War, our relationships with the gods has grown better. Except for one of them." he paused, looking at Jason, who looked uncomfortable.

"We've been working on improving relations, but it has been hard. Zeus has become a paranoid tyrant dictator, and won't listen to reason. A little more than a week ago, our diplomacy crashed. Literally." He looked at Percy accusingly.

"Look," Percy started angrily "Zeus is a tyrant, and we all know that, but someone had to stand up to him."

"But you could have prepared us for what you were about to do."

"I just do what is right! Zeus is treating all of us like crap! He expects everyone to hold their promises, but never keeps his own. When things go to crap, he blames everyone else. He uses threats, intimidation and extreme punishments to keep people in line! He's a tyrant and a dictator!" Percy ranted

"I agree! If you want a rebellion, great! I'm with you! Most of us are. It's just a bit hard to be _with_ you, when you leave us _behind_. You acted rashly, without consulting anyone else, you didn't even consider the threat you put us all under! You're not the only one Zeus is going to punish!" Nico raged, punching the table with his right fist.

Percy looked properly ashamed now. It was true. He had acted rashly, and others had paid the price. Annabeth's father was still in the hospital, and people were scared. There had been an increase in thunderstorms all over the world. Especially in New York.

"Enough," Jason said "It doesn't matter how we got here. We have to make status, and decide, where we go from here."

Everyone nodded their assent.

"Piper and I, have been out checking up on how the others were holding up. As some of you know, it was decided to move everyone from Camp Half-blood here. Zeus might be angry with us, but the gods still depend on us. As long as we stay together, we should be relatively safe. Had we stayed in two separate camps, odds are that one of the camps would have been destroyed. The kids out there are scared, but hopeful that we will resolve the situation soon. This one guy, Harley though, kept complaining about a flamethrower he forgot though?"

"Ah yeah. He's my apprentice. I'll talk to him later." Leo said, smiling like a proud father.

"Now, the question is, where do we go from here?" Annabeth said. "Why did you bring Hermione here, Nico? You say protection, but knowing you, there is something else behind. You also brought Will, so what is your idea?"

Straight to the point. Hermione liked her.

Nico sighed, and looked to Hermione and Will. "It's true, Hermione does need protection, but she can also help protecting us, and help resolving the situation." He looked her in the eye and she nodded, giving him permission to share some of their story.

"I met Hermione, almost immediately after the end of the Titan War. Hecate had this community in Britain, and there was this guy who had tried to become immortal, like eighteen years ago. My dad sent me to see if the community was at peace and if there were signs of more people trying to do the same."

He locked eyes with Hermione and gave her a small smile, which she returned.

"There, I found Hermione. I could tell what she was almost immediately. It was incredible that she hadn't been eaten by some kind of monster before then"

"And if I remember correctly, I had been chased by a fifty feet long Basilisk by that time."

Franks eyes bugged out. "Fifty feet! How is that even possible?" "Basilisks are immortal, Frank. This one had lived for about a millennium. That's a long time to gain pounds" Hermione said.

"Ah, Petrification. Good times. Anyway, Nico found me. I had no idea, what I was. I was adopted as an infant, and had no clue about my birth parents. I knew I was a witch, and I guessed that it was probably passed down from one of them. I could tell that Nico wasn't like other wizards, his power was different and more powerful." Nico looked extremely pleased at that.

"I knew she could be trouble. Zeus had tried to kill me and Bianca, and had wanted to kill Percy. I knew he probably wouldn't take it so well if another kid of the big three was discovered. At least not so soon after the humiliation of a kid turning down godhood and instead demanding stuff from him." Nico continued.

"I went to see my dad. He and Poseidon had gotten along much better, and the two of them agreed that it would be better to keep her hidden back then. She was protected during the school year, by the enchantments of the castle, but whenever she would come home for holidays, she would be vulnerable. She needed to learn how to defend herself, but since she couldn't come to camp, it was decided that I should train her."

"I'm rusty now though. I lost my training partner."

"Nah. I'm pretty sure you could still give me a run for my money."

"That's cute and all, but can we get back to point?" Annabeth interrupted. "We have plenty of good fighters. What's so special about her? – No offence."

Nico gritted his teeth. "The thing is, that Hermione is powerful. Like crazy powerful. More than any of us." Hermione blushed and looked away. "She has magic, from being blessed by Hecate, and then she has powers from Poseidon, but both those powers amplify each other. She's Zeus's biggest threat here."

"So she can make a really large water gun? I don't get it" Leo said.

"I'm really not that great with water. Just the basics." Hermione replied.

"You know how many gods have several aspects?" Nico tried to explain. "Like Apollo's kids are great at archery or healing or music? Or Hades is the god of death and riches, Nico indicated himself and Hazel respectively. "Well, Poseidon is known as the God of the Sea. You know another nickname he has?"

"Earth-Shaker" Annabeth replied, wide-eyed.


	11. Chapter 11

**Actually, Percy doesn't do earthquakes, interestingly enough. Earthquakes are mentioned throughout the books, but Percy isn't creating them. Annabeth mentions Poseidon being god of earthquakes in the Lightning thief, and in the Son of Neptune, Hazel tells Percy, that supposedly a son of Neptune destroyed the old Camp Jupiter, by earthquake in 1906**.

 **And Oh yeah. House of Hades, abducting women since 400BC**

"Earth-Shaker"

The reactions were very different across the room. Percy, Calypso, Piper and Hazel looked curious. Will and Leo looked exited. Reyna, Jason, Annabeth and Frank all looked horrified.

"She can't stay here!" Reyna announced. "She's putting the entire camp at risk! We're right on top of the San Andreas faultline!"

"Reyna, would I bring someone here, if they were a threat?" Nico pointed out.

Reyna looked between him and Hermione, noting how close they were standing.

"If you cared about them enough, yeah." Reyna countered.

Everyone looked uncomfortable at that.

"Look, Reyna," Hermione interjected "I can only make small localized quakes at the moment. In time, with training, I could be a threat, but I purposely haven't tried to build up strength. It would be too dangerous to attempt, in case I lost control and couldn't contain it. Honestly though, I think I could still be of benefit. I can't just provoke earthquakes, I can also hold them at bay. Plus, I have a lot of practice with protection- and concealment spells. I could probably cast them to cover the entire Camp, and New Rome."

Annabeth looked skeptical.

"Can you really do that?"

Hermione sighed. "I've had a lot of practice over this past year. I haven't done it on quite this scale before, but I'm confident in my abilities."

"I've been searching for her for a long time. Not even Hades could locate her!" Nico boasted.

"And the earthquakes? Can you really contain them?" Annabeth continued.

"Yes. About as well as I can create them."

"Could you do it better with training?"

"Probably. But you have to understand, that training this ability is dangerous. Earthquakes can destroy buildings, kill people, and cause tsunamis. Especially on top of a faultline. If I had to train, it would have to be somewhere remote, uninhabited and without risk of causing a tsunami, that could destroy a second location."

Calypso smirked. "I may, or may not know a location like that. Do you think we could find it again, Leo?"

Leo grinned maniacally. "I think Festus misses the air"

"The - the air?" Hermione blanched "but isn't the air, what got us in trouble in the first place?"

"Yeah! That just means it can't get any worse! Besides, Festus is a dragon made from Celestial Bronze. It perfectly safe. Well, almost safe."

Hermione looked about ready to throw up.

"Oh, come on, Hermione." Nico coaxed. "Didn't you tell me earlier that you flew on a real dragon? Leo is at least somewhat in control of Festus"

"That was different! I was escaping after a bank robbery. It was a life and death situation!" Hermione hissed.

"Wait a minute, you robbed a bank?" Percy and Leo asked simultaneously, Percy looking worried, Leo looking awed.

"Yes. But that's a story for another time. I'm just really not good with heights"

"We'll do everything to make sure that you're safe." Nico softly said, taking her hand. "I won't let anything happen to you."

Percy was feeling very uncomfortable. He still hadn't accepted her existence fully, but he was pretty sure, that Nico di Angelo was hitting on his little sister. That thought made him queasy.

"But what about Zeus?" Hermione tried.

"Well, that concealment-thingy, couldn't you just do that on Festus?" Leo pointed out.

Hermione sighed. "Fine." She caved in the end. "But not right away. I need to process a lot of stuff, and also, you, Blondie, I need that flyer. There's a telephone number on it, yes? Can anyone show me where to find a phone? I know it's a no-no, but I really need one. I'm sure they can't receive Iris-messages because of magical interference, but if this was distributed in muggle areas, they must have a hotline or something."

"Sorry, but we'll need to go outside for that. It's too risky attracting monsters here. We have protective barriers, sure, but it wouldn't be good if new campers got stuck in a traffic jam of monsters."

"Actually, I have something" Leo interrupted "It's just a prototype, but I've been working on this gadget with Harley. It's based off a beacon he made with Apollo a couple of years ago. It can be used as a cell-phone. Try it out"

Leo threw her a beat up old Nokia 3310. She looked at it skeptically. "It was the only model that could take the abuse." He explained sheepishly.

"Um. I'll just go outside then. You should probably go get some rest Ghost King. You look dead on your feet!" She yelled over her shoulder as she walked out.

Nico rolled his eyes exasperatedly "Ha ha." But his mouth twitched.

"You should listen to her." Will said with a smirk.

Nico hung his head and went out, looking for a place to sleep. This left ten very confused demigods in the principia, trying to process what was going on.

"We still didn't discuss what we're actually going to do." Jason said, shaking his head.

"Who cares," Leo replied. "Watching those two is great entertainment!" Leo replied.

Percy just looked nauseous.


	12. Chapter 12

Hermione sat down on the steps at the entrance to the principia, fiddling with the old phone. Soon after, Nico came out and sat down beside her.

"What do I do if they want me to come back?" she whispered.

"I'm sorry, but you can't" He said softly and kissed her temple.

"They won't accept that."

"They'll have to. They can't come here because they're mortal, and too dangerous for you to go back. At least untill we've found a solution." He reminded her. "Besides, you belong to me now." He mumbled absently into her hair.

"I what?"

"Oh, um" he cleared his throat "You belong here now. You know, at camp. With the other half-bloods."

She raised her eyebrows.

"Whatever you say, Ghost King. Now go, get some sleep. I'm surprised you aren't snoring on the ground after all that shadow travel you did these last couple days."

"The ambrosia Will gave me helped a little, but believe me, I'm close. If you need me, just tell the others. They'll know where I'm at."

With that, he left her smiling about what she was pretty sure she heard right the first time.

In the background, Will Solace stood, watching the tender scene with a melancholic smile. He was happy for Nico, but it's always bittersweet to see a former lover move on. He turned back to the others.

"I should get back to the Valetudinarium. I think I might have an idea about what Nico is planning, but I'd like to hear it from him. Just call me when we're meeting again." He said, and left. On the way out he passed Hermione, who was on the phone. He winked at her and smiled knowingly, and started walking down the street.

…

Hermione tried to make the phone work. It was a bit complicated, and she was a bit worried about the whirring sound and the sparks coming from it, but eventually she managed to make the call. She sat waiting for someone to pick up.

"Ministry of Ma – Oh Merlin, uh… British Cons-ul-ate. Please hold."

Hermione waited, listening to the frantic whispering on the other end

"But what do I do?" Someone hissed "It's on the muggle phone, what do I say?"

"Hello?" She tried interrupting, but the whispering continued. "HELLO!" She finally yelled, when she ran out of patience.

"Yes, miss, if you could just wai – "

"No!" She interrupted. "This is Hermione Granger speaking, there is no need to worry about muggles. Now, can I please speak to Harry Potter?" There was a hectic scrambling at the phone, and someone yelling in the background. In the end, the phone was finally transferred to an out of breath, Harry Potter.

"Hermione?" He half yelled. "Are you alright? We have been worried sick! Where the hell are you?! There's a manhunt going on to find you!"

"Gods Harry. I haven't been gone that long." She scoffed.

"All I know is that we had a deal to meet up at the Broomsticks, but you never came in. Then we came out and saw you leaving with this creepy guy with a sword!"

"… Nico is not creepy" Hermione smiled into the phone "Oh well, maybe he's a little creepy. But he's a good guy."

"A creepy good guy?! Unbelievable! Who the hell is he, and when are you coming home?"

Hermione sighed. "I'm not, Harry. It's hard to explain, but I really can't return."

"Is he threatening you?"

She laughed loudly "Nowhere near it. Nico is hard to explain, if you don't know him, but he isn't dangerous. Only to his enemies."

"Enemies? Hemione, what have you gotten yourself into? I thought we were done with enemies. The war is over."

"I can't explain it over the phone. But this isn't exactly new for me. I've met Nico before, we spent a lot of third year together."

"Third year? You've kept secrets from us, since third year?" His voice broke. "If you spent third year together, how come we've never even seen him before?"

"Remember the time-turner?"

"But Hermione, we need you. I need you… Ron needs you."

"Ron doesn't need me. He needs a brood mare. Don't tell me that's not true. I know he plans to marry me and tie me to the kitchen, popping out children, just like his mother. You can't tell me differently without lying. He's selfish, jealous and he bails every time things get rough. And a relationship with me would get very rough, given my parentage."

"You mean the muggleborn thing? You know Ron doesn't care about that."

Hermione sighed "Oh, Harry. If only."

"Hermione, I don't understand any of this. Can't you just come home so we can talk about it?"

"I really can't. It would be too dangerous."

"We found your parents."

Hermione choked a sob. "You what?"

"We found them. They're living in Canberra. We've had aurors and healers posing as patients at their clinic. Johnson's still traumatized by muggle torture devices." Harry told her. "The healers say that the memory charm is reversible, but you're the one who has to do it."

"I know." She said brokenly. "I couldn't risk anyone else being able to do it… Are they happy?" She whispered.

"I think so. I don't know… Hermione, what aren't you telling me?"

"I'm in a place near San Francisco. Do you think we could meet there at a café or something?" she asked shakingly.

"I… When?"

"Maybe tomorrow. Around 11, San Francisco time?"

"Alright. Just please consider coming home."

"Can't, Harry. I'll see you tomorrow. I'll call you a little later with the details, I don't know the area that well."

"See you tomorrow, I guess." He replied dejectedly and hung up.

Hermione broke down crying on the stairs.

…

Percy rushed out in alarm, when he heard sobbing. He sat next to Hermione without thinking, drawing her into his arms by instinct.

"Go get Nico" He told her reluctantly.

As he held her, he realized how thin she was, and the scars she had. "What the hell has she been through?" He wondered.


	13. Chapter 13

By the time Nico arrived, Hermione's crying had reduced to sniffles and hiccups. She was exhausted, on the verge of sleep. They had carried her into the principia, where she was half lying, half sitting on Percy, Calypso trying to make her drink some water.

Nico sat down in front of her and stroked some hair out of her face

"Hey, Princess. What's going on", he said softly

"They found my parents, Nico" She brokenly whispered.

"I erased their memory of me and sent them to Australia before going on the run. Now Harry found them."

"But isn't that a good thing?"

This started a whole new wave of sobbing.

"Th- they don't know me, a-and I c-can't fix them. It's too dangerous for them t-to see me, but it doesn't matter. They won't miss me, because they don't know me."

Percy caught Nico's eye, silently demanding an explanation.

"Later" Nico mouthed as he started gathering Hermione in his arms. He lifted her up and shadow traveled them to his bedroom. He tucked her in with his still warm sheets, and crawled in beside her, holding her as they both fell asleep.

…

Hermione woke up to a soft knock on the door. From what she could tell, it was very early in the morning. Nico was still snoring softly behind her. She knew from experience, that nothing but an act of violence could wake him, when he was like this. She was still careful, when going to open the door.

On the other side stood a beautiful girl, with brown hair and bronze coloured skin. She was at the principia the day before.

"Good morning" she smiled and looked over Hermione's shoulder to see Nico still sleeping.

"Morning" Hermione slurred "Piper, right?"

It was deeply unfair that anyone could look so beautiful at the crack of dawn.

"Thought you might like a shower and some breakfast, before everyone else is up and starts with their questions" Piper said gently.

"I could definitely do with a shower. Urh, and I need to shave my legs. If I get any hairier, animal rights activists are going to try capturing me and release me into the wild."

Piper chuckled "I can see why he likes you" She said with a smile and led Hermione out into the hall, closing the door softly behind her.

"Who likes me?"

"Come on. You know perfectly well who I'm speaking about. I'm a child of Aphrodite. I know these things. And if I'm not much mistaken, the sentiment is shared." Pipers smile widened to a grin, when Hermione blushed

"What is this place anyway? Nico just shadow traveled us directly to his…um his bedroom." Hermione blushed even deeper with that realization.

They were walking down a dimly lit hallway.

"This is the House of Ten. Eleven if you're want to stay." She said with a large smile.

The hallway was beautiful. The walls were covered in frescoes depicting the adventures they had been through. From the ceiling, chains of lights hung, giving off a low warm glow.

"About a year ago, we all got together to make this place. Annabeth drew the structure. Leo made all appliances and all the electronics. You might also meet Buford The Wonder Table, he's probably lurking around somewhere.

"Leo installed so many appliances, we might as well be living in a large computer. He could tell you more, but if you ask him, he won't ever stop speaking." Piper said, as Hermione examined some control panels on the wall.

"He almost sounds like a steam punk Tony Stark."

Piper snorted. "You're not far off. He even made Buford and Festus sentient. He wanted to install a Jarvis, but the rest of us all, voted against it. Speaking to a disembodied voice coming from the walls is just too weird. He got to install it in his Lab though."

They continued down the hallway and Hermione studied the paintings. She stopped in front of an image of Nico sitting cross-legged in a bronze jar, meditating with pomegranate seeds at his feet.

"Oh Nico" she whispered. "He was there for eight days?" She asked Piper, tears glistening in her eyes. "Yeah. How did you guess?"

"I counted the seeds." She replied, like that should be obvious.

"Who made these?" Hermione whispered.

"Rachel Dare. She's the Oracle. You haven't met her yet, but you can't go on a quest until you get a prophecy, so you're grounded until she gets home from vacation."

Piper studied Hermione as she ran her fingers across the painting.

"Hermione, how well do you know Nico?"

Hermione smiled. "Why do you ask?"

"You just seem very comfortable with each other. He's completely different around you. Even when he was with Will, he was mostly moody and brooding. He didn't like physical contact. Yet here he is, with you, holding your hand, joking, making you blush."

Hermione sighed.

"It's a hard question" she said as she moved away from the painting.

"How do you define knowing someone? Is it knowing their favourite colour? Knowing their greatest secrets? Trusting them with your life?" She paused, and Piper waited for her to elaborate

"I was twelve, when we first met." She eventually continued

"For a year we spent almost every day together. In the beginning, he was as you described. Moody. Depressed. Sometimes, just really angry. To be honest, I just thought he didn't want to be there. He was ordered to train me, over the summer holiday, by his father, and mine. Once the holiday was over, he still kept coming back though. We did a lot of sneaking around." She remembered with a fond smile.

"We went on a lot of different missions from his father actually. We grew pretty close. I'm still trying to find out how much of that has changed over the years."

"Why didn't you keep in touch?" Piper asked bewildered.

"One day he came to me, saying that he needed to be away for a couple of weeks , but he promised to come back. Those couple of weeks suddenly turned into five years. I learned later that he had been stuck in Tartarus." She whispered.

"But he came back out?"

"Yes, but by then, war had broken out in the magical community. And as he said- not even his dad could find me."

Piper could tell she wouldn't get much more out of Hermione. They reached the kitchen, which gave her a chance to change the subject.

"So. What do you want for breakfast? We have pretty much everything here."

"Maybe just some toast? This kitchen is amazing!" She said in awe.

And it really was. White walls, carved marble countertops. Dark wooden cabinets with bronze filigree handles.

She sat down on a chair at a breakfast bar.

"I agree. Leo and Annabeth worked a lot together on this room. Wait till you see one of the bathrooms though."

"I'd like tha-"

Hermione was interrupted, by a hatch opening in the tabletop she sat at. She Jumped and yelped, when two pieces of toast jumped out of the hatch.

Piper just lifted an eyebrow.

"That's new. Might need to speak with Leo about that. Could hit someone in the face." Her calmness told Hermione, that one might learn to live with surprises like that, living in the same household as Leo Valdez.

"At least your breakfast isn't on fire. I tried that last week, with a bowl of cornflakes."

They sat for a while, eating in comfortable silence.

"Can you tell me where the bathroom is?" Hermione asked, when she finished her toast.

"The guest bathroom is just down the same hall we came from. First door to the left. If you want, I could find you some clothes to borrow."

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary. I brought my own wardrobe."

"Where on earth are you keeping it then?" Piper asked, bewildered.

"Right here," Hermione replied, smiling and drawing a small beaded bag from one of her pockets.

"That must be the world's tiniest shorts, if you're keeping them in there."

Hermione just smiled mysteriously and pulled out a t-shirt, a pair of jeans, a cardigan, socks and a change of shoes. Piper sat openmouthed, blinking rapidly, not trusting her own eyes.

"How did you _do_ that?" She asked, after getting over her internal freak-out.

"Magic" Hermione grinned and started walking down the hallway.

 **I wanted to have Hermione start bonding a little with some of the others. I promise more action soon though. Please leave reviews. I really love it when you do. :)**


	14. Chapter 14

The bathroom really was amazing. In a was it reminded Hermione of the prefects bathroom back at Hogwarts.

Hogwarts felt like such a foreign concept by now. It was a little over a year since she left it in its glory. A month since she stood fighting in the rubble of it, and just two days ago, she had stood in the ruins, observing the rebuilding process.

Now she was on the other side of the globe, but she might as well have been on a different planet. She really wasn't looking forward to speaking with Harry. She needed to ask on of the others about a café somewhere.

She missed him, absolutely, but it wouldn't be fun to admit the extent of her secrets.

…

 _Hermione had been sitting under a tree reading, when she had the creeping feeling, that someone was watching her. She lifted her eyes slightly, keeping herself relatively hidden behind her book._

 _There! Across the lake, stood a boy, roughly her age. He was dressed in black, a black sword at his side. He was wearing a brown jacket, that looked way too big, but that might just be because he looked really skinny. His face was gaunt, and he was pale, bordering on transparent. She wondered absently if he was a ghost or a ghoul, she just hadn't encountered before, but he was too solid for that._

 _She was positive that he wasn't a student._

 _She would have noticed him._

 _And attempted to force feed him._

 _She watched out of the corner of her eye, as he started to walk towards her. As he drew closer, she felt a different sort of power coming from him. She was used to feeling the magic within her peers, but this was another, more pronounced and dangerous sort of power. It made her alert, but she was still unafraid. Which wasn't logical, since skeleton-kid was walking towards her with a sword. '_ At least it's still sheathed' _her mind said._

 _Not a wizard then._

 _He walked up to her, only to slow down and start walking again._

 _Hermione was getting impatient. And curious._

" _If you're going to sit, just do it already. Your indecision is getting ridiculous."_

 _She heard herself say. She heard him walking closer and felt, more than heard him sitting down beside her. U close, his power felt overwhelming. Her entire body was buzzing and she could feel her heart rate increasing. This was the most powerful being she had ever encountered, and now he sat down next to her._

 _Now, what to say to him? She couldn't really ask him, what he was. That would be rude._

" _Where are you from?"_

' _That was a good question' her mind said._

 _He took a long time trying to find an answer. Apparently 'home' was a loose concept._

" _I would say America, but I'm originally from Italy. We moved many years ago." He said eventually._

 _"I'm Nico. Di Angelo. Nico di Angelo."_

 _She couldn't help but smile at that. It was a cute name, but he really didn't look like an angel._

 _She stretched out her hand anyway._

" _Hermione Granger"_

 _When he took her hand, a shock went through her entire body, and when he didn't let go, she could feel her own power responding to his. Her body started feeling weak, as if he were draining her. Not purposely. He looked as surprised as her, if not more._

 _"You're different. How?" She got out._

 _He didn't respond. He just looked around, bewildered._

 _She was starting to grow dizzy. He dragged her into the shadows, and she vaguely wondered if she had fallen prey to some sort of magical creature she hadn't read about. The odds for that were slim though. She had almost finished the 'Magical Creatures' section in the library, and she doubted there was anything on the rest of the shelf she hadn't already read at least a bit about._

 _Besides, she would have remembered reading about such a fascinating creature as Nico di Angelo._

 _Suddenly the world went dark. She thought for a second that she had passed out, but then came the feeling of a frantic wind, and noises in the air, like voices speaking backwards_

 _Then she passed out._

…

When Hermione had finished showering and had gotten dressed, she returned to the room she had spent the night in. Only to be confronted by Nico's shirtless back.

He had most definitely changed a lot. He was still slender, but he looked healthier. He had the upper body muscle of a young man used to sword fighting.

He turned around to find her staring and smirked, making her turn away to hide her blush.

She cleared her throat

"Will you come with me to go deal with Harry? I don't know if he's bringing anyone else, but either way, it would be foolish to go without backup. You know, in case of monsters..." she trailed off

"Hey, don't worry about it, Princess. We'll figure it out." Nico said, embracing her, apparently forgetting, that he wasn't wearing a shirt.

Hermione was happy, that he was hugging her from behind, so he wouldn't see her red cheeks. That is, untill she saw him smiling cheekily at her in the mirror next to the door.

He did that on purpose, that little shit. She shoved her elbow back into his stomach, making him stagger, as she hit his diaphragm.

"Alert, are you?" she smirked

He stood up. "You want to do this now?" he asked her incredulously.

"Why not? Morning exercise. You know I can fix anything in here." se said, taking off her shoes and outer shirt, leaving her in jeans and a sports-bra.

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not?" she could really do with burning off some on the jittery energy that came with all their angst.

She tried to shove him a couple of times

He captured her arm, twisting it behind her back, pulling her so they were chest to chest, effectively pinning her in place with only one hand.

The height difference between had become notable.

She struggled, but he held fast, using his free hand to push her hair out of her face.

She gave a frustrated scream.

He chuckled and smirked.

"Because you're rusty. And I don't think seeing you with bruises in my company is going to help your friend's image of me."

She slumped in his arms and sighed. Enjoying being in his ams for a moment.

"You're right. I just have a lot of nervous energy."

"We can train when we get back"

He kissed her forehead and released her.

She took the opportunity to crouch down and sweep his feet. When he was down, she jumped up on top of him, pushing her forearm into his throat.

"HA!"

"You fight dirty!" he accused, scowling up at her.

"I fight smart." She countered with a smirk.

That was how Reyna found them.

Prince of Darkness half naked, on the floor at the mercy of a girl. She approved.

They didn't notice her standing in the doorway at all though.

Nico bucked, throwing her off her balance, and flipped them around, and switched their position.

"If you can fight dirty, so can I"

Reyna had had enough by then, and cleared her throat loudly, probably enjoying the 'deer in the headlights'-moment more than she should have.

She left them there, and as she was walking down the hallway she yelled loudly

"IF YOU TWO WOULD LIKE TO GET SOME CLOTHES ON, WE'RE HAVING A MEETING IN FIVE!"

Nico cursed in what sounded like ancient Aramaic, if Hermione wasn't much mistaken.

It was Hermione's turn to curse, when they vaguely heard Percy's " They what?!" and Pipers whooping from the kitchen.

Nico looked down at her. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair was a mess. She looked beautiful.

"Later?" He asked.

"Yeah, later." She smiled, embarrassed.

 **I know, I know, not real action, but hopefully I can make that happen in the next chapter. Looking forward to that. Also, looking forward to working more on the flashbacks.**

 **Again, please review, it makes me really happy!**


	15. Chapter 15

They hurried getting dressed, and practically ran down the hall, into the kitchen, their cheeks bright red.

The others were already there excluding Will, Leo and Calypso.

Annabeth and Jason looked curious, Hazel looked uncomfortable. Reyna was smirking, Piper grinning like a mad woman. Percy just looked plain nauseous.

"We were sparring." Hermione pointed out.

Jason cleared his throat. "Whatever you do is your own business, but we only have about three hours till your meeting with your friend. Reyna took the liberty of calling him. There's a small café near the camp we're meeting at."

"We?"

"You need backup. The monsters are restless. I don't know if they can sense the instability, but they're more aggressive and are coming closer to camp."

"I have a theory." Annabeth offered "I think the monsters somehow knows that we had a falling out with Zeus. They are afraid of him, and they probably thought he was protecting us before, which means, that now we're free game. I think we can expect some of the nastier things coming for us as well."

"Jeez, Annabeth, what a cheerful thought." Nico muttered. Hermione swatted him in the stomach.

"Shush! It's a valid point." she scolded. Annabeth smiled widely.

"I suggest all of us, who are in the room right now, go with Hermione. Leo and Calypso are busy working on Festus." Jason said

"Sounds like a plan." Nico interjected, just as Hermione was about to protest , and say that it was too many.

"Better safe than sorry." Percy added.

"Great!" Piper settled " Then I can give Hermione a tour of the house!"

She grabbed Hermione's arm, and pulled her through a door she hadn't noticed before.

…

"Sparring, Hermione? Really?"

"We were!" She defended.

"If you say so" Piper said with a teasing smile.

"Anyway, I promised you a tour! Right now, we are at we call the House central. This is the dining room."

Only then did Hermione look around.

The room was huge. One wall was covered completely with photos of what she assumed was Camp Half-blood, of the Ten and their other friends, in various places. Some at Camp Half-blood, some at Camp Jupiter and New Rome. In some pictures, they looked like normal teenagers, in others they looked battle worn, dirty and with torn clothes.

She chuckled when she spotted a picture of a younger, grumpy looking Nico sporting a colourful tropical shirt.

Judging by the marks on the frame, and the broken plaster behind it, it had been torn down violently and hung back up, several times.

At another wall stood two cabinets presumably for tableware. In the middle of the room was an enormous dark, wooden dining table, with matching chairs, large enough to seat twelve people.

The other walls held two doors each. Piper dragged her along through one of the doors into another room as large as the dining room, if not larger. She assumed this was the living room. In a way, it reminded her of the Gryffindor common room, only in white. Squishy looking armchairs and couches were everywhere, along with low tables.

There was even a fireplace.

One wall held two doors more. Another wall was made of glass, with a door that led onto a patio that held a fire pit. A little further away was a large swimming pool. In the distance was a separate building, with large garage doors, smoke coming out of a chimney.

"How large is this place?" Hermione asked in awe.

"Well, as I said, this is the main part of the house. Other than this, there are four wings. Leo wants to add a fifth though. At the moment, you and Nico are staying in the guest wing. Leo has wanted to make Nico his own wing, but Nico always said it wasn't necessary, since he's travelling all over."

"Nico never really had a home. Unless you count the Underworld. His room there is pretty cool, but it's not home, not really. I don't think he knows how to have one, to be honest" Hermione mumbled absently as she studied the fireplace.

"Wait, you saw his room in the Underworld?" Piper asked incredulously

"Yeah. I think Hades and Persephone decorated it together. It's a very strange mix of chains, skulls and flower garlands."

Pipers lips twitched. "You have got to tell me more about that sometime, but I think we should get ready soon. We should be there in good time, to scope the place, but first we need to get weapons and prepare.

…

Hermione's heart was in her throat, as they approached the café. It was decided, that Nico, herself and Piper were going inside. The others were staying outside, looking out for monsters.

Before going inside, Nico pulled Hermione in for a hug. "Don't worry about it. It'll all work out." He said, kissing her hair. He kept his arm around her shoulder. As the three of them, walked through the door, a bell jingled above them.

When Hermione looked inside, she saw Harry sitting alone at a table, his left leg bouncing up and down, as it always did, when he was agitated.

Nico walked her to the table "It'll be fine. If you need us, we'll be right over there" he said, gesturing Piper, standing at a table at the other end of the shop, near the window. He released her shoulder, sliding his hand down her other arm, to her hand, squeezing her fingers before releasing her and walking in Pipers direction.

"If it was him, coming, claiming to be Percy's sibling, I wouldn't doubt it at all." Piper told him.

Hermione sat down slowly in the chair opposite Harry's.

"So…" she started, when she realized, her best friend was otherwise mentally occupied, scowling heavily in Nico's direction.

Hermione sighed. "He's a good guy, Harry." She said.

Harry whipped his head around, turning the scowl to her. "Mind elaborating that, Hermione?" he asked scathingly.

She sighed again. She was doing that a lot lately. She hesitated, but ended up blurting "I'm adopted." "Um, okay. Wasn't expecting that. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything, really" She chuckled. "I didn't even know. Not until Nico came along."

"He told you? How did he know? Is he like your biological brother or something?"

"Eew, no. Not my brother. Definitely _not_ my brother. I think it was as surprising to him as it was to me. He could feel my power was different. More like his own."

"So he's a wizard too?"

"No, not a wizard."

"Then what is he? He isn't a muggle."

"No. What do you know about Greek gods?"

"What, like Zeus and Hades and Poseidon and those guys?" He looked at her like she had gone crazy.

"At the end of second year, a couple of days before we left with the train, I met Nico on the grounds of Hogwarts. I hadn't seen him before, and when I introduced myself, and we shook hands, he accidentally kidnapped me to the Underworld."

"How does anyone _accidentally_ kidnap someone?!" He asked incredulously.

"A lot like accidental side-along apparition, like what happened with Yaxley."

"Wait a minute. When you say "Underworld" is that like an underground community or is, like hell" he squeaked out.

She sighed again. She needed to stop doing that.

"The Underworld is complicated. You have to understand that. What people think of today as "Hell" is only a very small part of the Underworld. There are many other parts. The Fields of Asphodel, Elysium. Tartarus." She shivered, mentioning that last one.

"Nico is the son of Hades then." Harry gritted his teeth.

"He needed to consult his father on what to do. Being a demigod, as we are, is very complicated. There are many political factors, the gods in between, that we need to consider, and also, there are many monsters wanting us as a snack. Many don't survive their teenage years." She explained.

"Hades contacted Poseidon, with whom he had a good relationship, at least at the time, and due to a deal, they had both made with Zeus, it was decided, that it was best if my parentage was kept a secret. In the mortal world, this was easy. I just continued like before, with my adoptive parents, who didn't know I knew about the adoption. I still needed training though, and since Nico already knew about me, it was decided that he should train me."

"But how could he train you? He doesn't look much older than you. How could he train you at the age of thirteen?" Harry asked.

Hermione gave him a melancholic smile "By that time, Nico had already been through his first war. He had lost his mother, his sister, and fought in a great battle. Compared to him, what we have been through, is a fairytale."

Harry looked over at Nico, with a look of reluctant respect. The kind of respect one would give a fellow soldier.

Nico was gesturing wildly, deep in discussion, with the beautiful girl they had come in with. Nico looked agitated. The girl just looked smug.

They were so deep in their discussion, that none of them noticed the bell above the door jingling. Two sets of Siamese twins were walking through the door. Harry wasn't usually one to stop and gawk at people, who looked different. He'd had enough people staring at his scar to know, that that type of attention really isn't comfortable. This was different though. He had highly developed senses, after the war, and a certain amount of paranoia. Those guys had something wrong with them, and it wasn't being stuck at the hip. He pulled at Hermione's sleeve, getting her attention, and nodded in the direction of the guys, who seemed to be sniffing the air.

…

Nico felt like banging his head against the table. As soon as he sat down at the table, Piper pounced.

"So, lover boy. You going to get your act together soon?"

"My act?" He asked with a lifted eyebrow.

Piper rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "I'm surrounded by emotionally handicapped idiots" she mumbled

"Just don't" He complained.

"Hermione? Tell me! I mean, I can see what is there, and what could be there. Why are you hesitating?!" She hissed.

"It's complicated" He grumbled.

"Then uncomplicate it! Or explain to me, why it's complicated, so I can uncomplicate it for you!"

"You're impossible" He said. She looked at him with her puppy dog eyes, that could be just as persuasive as her charm-speak.

"Fine" He huffed. "I used to have a crush on her brother. And her brother knows that. Everyone thinks I'm gay. I kept her hidden from her brother, and we have a civil war going on. Is that complicated enough for you?"

She looked at him pensively. "That doesn't sound complicated at all actually. None of those things actually have anything to do with what is between the two of you. Now, if you actually _had_ been gay, and not bisexual, _that_ would have been complicated. If you still had a crush on her brother, _that_ would have been complicated. If she had been married, _that_ would have been complicated. You don't have any of those problems, so what is the deal?"

He made a frustrated growl. "It's complicated because she's a girl, alright? I know what to do, with boys, I have no idea about girls! I've never been with a girl!"

"Easy tiger. One step at a time. You know her really well, you're comfortable together, you trust each other. I'm pretty sure, that kissing a girl isn't all that different from kissing a guy. Except for the lack of whisker burn, which is to your advantage, really."

"Then, what if she doesn't like me? What if she thinks it's weird, that I've had a boyfriend previously?"

"Trust me, she likes you. A lot. And don't you think you should let it be up to her, to decide, what she finds weird?"

"I'm just –"

Nico never got the chance to tell, what he just was, because at that moment, he was interrupted by people screaming, and a shot of flames, that went past his head, singeing his hair.

"Oh schist!" He muttered, drawing his sword.

 **I tried making this chapter a little longer. I promise, in the future I will work on doing that some more. I'm considering changing the rating on this story to an M, due to sexual content, but if any of the people following this story have any objections to that, please write let me know, and I won't let the story veer too much in that direction.**

 **Next chapter – fight scene. Looking forward!**


	16. Chapter 16

The world exploded.

Harry was right in thinking that something was wrong with the twins.

One of the heads on twin set no. 1 started morphing and spewing fire, making the patrons of the café scatter.

Harry scrambled out of his chair, drawing his wand.

He expected Hermione to same, but was surprised to see her standing up slowly, reaching behind her, drawing a…. Hairpin?

She stepped forward and yelled

"Harry, get behind me! Magic won't work on that thing!"

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Nico, and the other girl, engaging the other set of twins. Nico, slashing at the twin set with his black sword.

He turned his attention back to Hermione and the twins in front of him, just in time to see Hermione twisting her hairpin, turning it into a beautiful sword, almost the same size as Nico's.

He had never felt more inadequate in his entire life.

…

Hermione stood up slowly, trying to determine the best way to attack. She could hear Nico and Piper in the background, but they could manage.

The monster started morphing, and she heard the bell above the door jingling again. People were running out, onto the street, but she could also hear the voices of Annabeth and Percy. Just as well. The ceiling was starting to catch fire, they could really use some water.

She charged at the monster, that had now fully morphed into an eight foot two, tall figure, with two heads, one a lion, and one a goat. Its tail was a serpent, spewing corrosive venom in all directions.

"What is that thing?" Percy yelled.

"Chimera!" Hermione and Annabeth chorused.

Hermione slashed with her sword at the right side of the monster, but the Chimera dodged, making her duck and crouch, when a burst of fire shot past her.

She started slicing at the creature's legs yelling, "Harry! Fire!" Hoping that he would get the point. Where there had been hands before, the Chimera now had big lion's paws, with claws that could easily rip her throat out. It was swatting at her, but she raised her sword, parrying. The monster was turning one of its heads down towards her, getting ready to burn her to a crisp.

"Harry!" she screamed, trying to push him in to action.

Harry had been frozen in shock. When he gained his senses, there was brutal fighting going on, and he was surrounded by fire.

"Aguamenti!" He shouted, raising his wand, spraying the Chimera in the face that was turned towards Hermione. She used the monster's distraction to jump to her full height, pulling her sword upwards with her, cutting off one of the beast's paws. The other paw managed to pound her down on the floor.

The Chimera roared furiously, and lunged at Hermione, lionhead first.

…

Nico and Piper had been busy fighting their chimera. He had seen them twice before. One with Hermione, and once in Tartarus. Percy and Annabeth had jumped behind the bar, and it looked like Percy had broken the pipes, because he was sending water out through the room, helping Hermione's friend Harry put out the fires.

Piper had tried using charmspeak, but it didn't work, so she had drawn her dagger, Katoptris. They fought well together.

Piper stabbed the Chimera between the ribs, making it stagger and wheeze. Nico was about to give the final blow, but the Monster turned sideways, giving the snake tail an opportunity to attack. Nico cut off the snake's head, but it had already sunk its fangs into Piper's thigh. The snake's jaws were locked, and she couldn't get the snake's head off, so it kept pumping venom into her system.

Nico slashed his stygian iron blade sideways, effectively cutting the Chimera in half at the waist, making it disintegrate

That was when he heard the other Chimera roar. He turned around to see Hermione on her back. She was holding her sword up in front of her, but the beast was about to pounce.

He pulled his dagger out from its holster with inhuman speed, throwing it towards the Chimera, where it lodged itself in the lion's throat. Hermione didn't hesitate. She swung her sword with all the power she could muster and sliced off both the Chimeras heads, making it explode in golden glitter that covered her entire body.

…

Hermione was lying, panting heavily, trying to get herself together and sit up, which was hard after a battle, knowing that the threat was over.

"Hermione! Some help over here!" Nico yelled.

That made her scramble and hurry to his side, where he was sitting, tending to Pipers wound. He had just managed to pry away the head of the snake that had been stuck to her thigh. Her jeans had large holes, that were smeared with dark yellow venom.

"Rip open her jeans and see what you can make of it. I'll get nectar and ambrosia" he said hurriedly, positioning Piper against a chair. "Percy!" he yelled over his left shoulder. "Let Harry take care of the rest of the fires and Annabeth take out the rest of the customers! Go get Jason!"

Hermione dropped her sword and took Katoptris to cut open Pipers jeans. The venom was already spreading.

"I need to make a tourniquet" she said. Nico threw her a piece of a broken chair leg. And she got to work, using a piece of the jeans she had ripped. "Nectar" She stuck out her hand, and Nico threw it to her. She poured a few drops into each wound, making Piper hiss and let out a string of curse words. When she was starting to apply the tourniquet, Jason came rushing in, his glasses broken, a cut across his bicep and his blond hair streaked with soot.

"We'll stabilize her, and then I'll shadow travel her directly to the Valetudinarium." Nico told him.

"Fighting is almost done outside. We had another two of these and two empousai." Jason said, as he sat down beside his girlfriend.

Tears were streaming down Pipers face

"It hurts, Jason, gods it hurts!" she was crying.

"Here, eat this" Nico gave her a small piece of ambrosia.

"There. Tourniquet is done." Hermione said. "I'll be right back" Nico said, picking Piper up and carrying her into the shadows.

Jason went outside to check on the others.

Hermione sat back on her haunches, wiping her brow with the back of her hand, trying not to get too much blood on her face, which was hard, since her hands were covered with the substance.

She hated that. The metallic smell of the blood, mixed with the smoke from the dying embers was enough to make her want to puke.

Not to mention the fact, that the blood was starting to dry, making her hands very sticky.

She looked around at the damage. The fire had almost eaten a quarter of the café. Everything was soaking wet, and there were small piles of embers steaming in a corner.

In the middle of the room, Harry stood looking at her, as if he had never seen her before.

"You were amazing." he said, sitting down, leaning against a wall, patting a spot beside him, indicating she should sit there.

"I always knew you were amazing, but I really had no idea to what extent. How did you know all that?"

She sat down wincing, her muscles trying to tell her, exactly, how out of practice she had been.

"I studied healing techniques a lot actually. Ever since first year, when Ron was injured. I remember feeling so helpless back then. The fighting, Nico taught me, but I'm ridiculously out of practice with the sword. I would have been eaten if he hadn't thrown that dagger."

"How come you never trained with the sword?"

She picked it up from the floor, studying it.

"I was always with you guys, especially, when we were on the run. Sometimes, when I had a rare moment alone, I would take it out, to look at it. To remember. I had been worried about Nico. I hadn't heard from him since the end of third year."

"Showing you, would raise too many questions, and honestly, I didn't know if you would be able to see it. Most mortals can't. You would think I was crazy, waving around a hairpin."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked confusedly.

"It's the metal. It's called Celestial Bronze. Mortals generally can't see it or be hurt by it. It's lethal to monsters though. And other demigods." Hermione explained.

"This sword is very special. It was made especially for me. Actually, I think it was Hades himself, who commissioned it, although I suspect it was Nico's idea." she said, smiling.

She ran a finger over the sword, tracing the swirling black lines.

"It's made from Celestial Bronze, but it's embedded with Stygian Iron. A metal of the Underworld. It makes it really unique. I really love it. It also has a place to store my wand in the hilt, but I only use that on missions."

"I don't think it's just the sword you love." Harry pointed out, teasingly.

"Oh, shut up. We should probably clear out. It won't be long until the place is run over by the authorities." She deflected.

"When can we see you again?"

"I don't know, Harry. I can't bring you back to camp at the moment because of the borders, but I have another idea, I want to work on. I'll contact you when I know more." She gave him a hug.

"Safe apparition!" She wished him, and he disappeared with a pop, just as Nico returned from the shadows.

She twisted her sword, turning it back into a hairpin, which she stuck back in her ponytail. Nico threw his arm around her shoulder.

"Let's go get the others and go home." He murmured.

Hermione only grunted in reply, leaning against him, as they walked out of the café.

The outside didn't look much different from the inside. There were scorch marks on the ground, and golden dust covering the pavement.

The others stood in a huddle near the wall, waiting for them, all covered in various cuts, burns and bruises.

"Home?" Frank asked.

"Home." they all agreed.

 **Phew. I love fight scenes, but I feel like I'm crap at writing them. Please, again – review :)**


	17. Chapter 17

The next couple of days, went with tending to their wounds and making plans. Piper had been transported back to the house, but Will was stopping by every day, to check up on her. When she was able to sit up, they decided it was time for another meeting.

After their scuffle with the monsters at the café, Nico had decided, going to visit the Underworld.

The others had looked rather surprised, when they saw Hermione practically begging to go with him. It wasn't every day someone would plead for a trip to the Underworld. Nico refused adamantly and Hermione spent the days he was gone, practically sulking.

She kept herself occupied though. The Camp and new Rome, needed protection, so she spent an entire day casting every protection enchantment she knew, even going so far as casting the Fidelius charm, making Reyna secret keeper, meaning that Reyna had to walk around for days, making sure that everyone knew how to find the camp again. They placed scouts outside, to make sure they got the stragglers and new campers.

Hermione's energy was drained by all the casting, but after a night's sleep, she restless again. While it was good to get to know the others better, she still needed to keep her mind occupied, so she started working on another project. It was hard for her to see Nico leave. She was more scared of losing him again, than she had anticipated. Besides, it was a long time since she had seen the Underworld. She had visits to make.

One day, Leo was walking through the living room. He had been summoned to the dining room, and had washed up, by the orders of Annabeth, when saw Hermione half sitting inside the fireplace. He couldn't even see her head.

"You know, there's still around six months till Christmas, so you're a bit early. Besides, isn't there this thing, that Santa won't come, if you're waiting for him?"

"Ow!" It sounded from the fireplace. Hermione had bumped her head against the mantle.

When Leo could see her again, she was rubbing her forehead. Black smudges were all over her face, and her ponytail was only there as a principle, since most of her hair had escaped it, making her look like a dirty, grumpy lion. She had her stick in her left hand, and was tapping it against her thigh.

"What were you doing? Trying to set yourself on fire? All you've got to do is ask." He said with a smirk and a wink.

She was way too occupied to respond to his teasing though, which he thought was really unfair.

She walked to a small table next to the fireplace, that had several books open. She picked up one of them and started pacing with it, muttering to herself. She looked even more like a mad scientist than he did sometimes, which was a rather big accomplishment. In the end, he felt like he was going dizzy and decided to stand in front of her, stopping her in her path, but she didn't even notice that, so she ended up sprawled on the floor.

She lifted her head and scowled at him from the floor.

"Now, will you tell me, what you're doing?" he asked innocently.

She huffed "I'm trying to hook up the fireplace to the Floo Network"

"Flu network? Are you serious? I mean, I like Will and all, but the guy has a boyfriend he wants to see from time to time"

"No, the Floo Network. Not a disease. It's a method of transportation, wizards use. You throw in some special powder and say your destination. Then you get out of another fireplace somewhere else. Now, a friend of mine had a father, who hooked up a new fireplace, but he did that from within the ministry. I'm trying to hook it up from here, but it _isn't working!"_

Leo hesitated, honestly a little scared of the girl, although he would never admit it.

"Um, that might be, because it isn't really a normal fireplace. I might have made some tweaks." He said carefully.

Hermione made a frustrated growl and knocked her head back down on the floor.

"I'll help you later, but right now we should be in the dining room. I think Nico might be back" he coaxed, and stretched his hand towards her. He helped her up, and they walked to the dining room together.

All the others were already assembled, Will, sitting next to Piper redressing her wound. When the door opened, they were met with a bizarre sight.

Leo stood, freshly washed, not even a small oil stain in sight. Next to him stood Hermione, who looked like she might have had another dance with the Chimera.

"What?" She asked self-consciously.

"Um…"Jason got out, making her look at herself.

"Oh! Right! Scourgify" She said, and their eyes went even wider, when they saw the dirt disappearing on its own.

Nico, who had previously been a witness to Hermione's small miracles, only smiled.

"Let's get going then." He said, turning serious. "I've been around a bit, trying to figure out what's going on, and honestly it isn't looking good. Zeus found out about you, and he wants to kill you" He said, his eyes locked on Hermione's.

The others looked chocked at his callous remark, but Hermione only gave a wry smile. She looked around a their shocked faces.

"Oh, come on. There have been people wanting to kill me since I was eleven. I'm not going to break down and cry now. He knows that."

His lips twitched

"Either way, we need to discuss plans. He knows about you being a daughter of Poseidon, but I don't know if he knows about you being one of Hecates blessed."

"I spoke with my dad, and he said, that at this point, all communication between Zeus and Poseidon has ceased. Zeus is ordering a shut-down of Olympus. The gods are separating, taking sides. Especially the minor gods are siding with Poseidon. They are tired of Zeus's tyranny. They are encouraging Poseidon to overthrow Zeus, and they might not be so powerful, but there are plenty of them."

"Now, I'm not Zeus's greatest fan, but all out civil war is going to be bad for all of us. The division is no doubt going to spread to the demigod community, and the gods are going to use the planet as battleground, making humanity collateral damage. We need to take action before that happens."

"And what do you suggest we do?" Reyna asked. "At this point, war might be unavoidable"

"I think we should do an Apollo." Nico declared, first looking at Will, then at Jason.

The suggestion was met with shocked silence.

"Isn't that basically the same thing as just handing Poseidon the throne?" Jason asked eventually, with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Not if we play it properly. You're right, without Zeus, there will undoubtedly be a power vacuum. Someone would need to take over. Someone, who would keep the status quo, and isn't otherwise interested in the throne and thus would give it back upon Zeus's return."

"And who would that be then? Hades?" Jason asked scathingly.

"Gods no. My dad would like to stay out of it. He agreed to guide us, but that's it. I was going to suggest Apollo."

"Apollo?! Seriously?! 'My-life-is-a-haiku', 'Ode to Bacon'-Apollo?" Leo asked in disbelief.

"Hey!" Will shouted.

"I don't know. He got better" Percy pointed out.

"Exactly. He spent some time with real humans and demigods. He learned to be more serious and humble. Zeus has turned into a hateful dictator. He is treating his fellow gods and subjects with unnecessary cruelty. Everyone is scared of him, including his wife, but the goddess of marriage will never do anything to compromise her own. We need to handle this." Nico finished.

Annabeth sighed. "If we decided this, how would we even do it? None of us is powerful enough"

"No, probably not, but together we might be. Especially with her." Nico said, pointing at Hermione.

Hermione had a spectacular 'deer I the headlights'-moment.

"What do you mean, 'me'?"

"You are the most powerful one of us, you are even more powerful than some of the minor gods. Your magic from being blessed by Hecate, is being multiplied by your powers as a demigod and vice versa, which is probably the only reason the planet is still in one piece. If your magic didn't harness your powers over the earth, it would have cracked a long time ago. Training, increasing your abilities to control the earthquakes, should in turn make your magical capabilities grow as well, to keep up with the quakes. At least, that's Dad's and Hecate's theory." Nico explained.

"Your dad discussed me… with Hecate?"

"Of course, you're interesting to the both of them." He told her, trying to hold back a smile.

Percy filed that away in his memory. It would make sense for Hermione to be interesting to Hecate, if she was one of her blessed, but why would she be interesting to Hades, if she was the daughter of Poseidon?

"The point is, that if we work together, we might have a shot at making Zeus mortal for a while, making him see a different perspective of the world he's ruling, hopefully humble him a little, making him a better king."

Hermione sighed. "If we're going to do this, I would like to do some research. It might also be beneficial, to get in touch with someone else, from the magical community, particularly Harry, who you met the other day, and possibly Luna Lovegood. Maybe a couple of others. I'm working on setting up a Floo connection. It's a way of transportation, used in the wizarding world. I can't get them through the border, but I might be able to get them in here directly. I actually got the idea from Nico's arguments with Terminus."

"Sounds very 'Trojan Horse'" Frank said. "No offence"

"No, you're right. I need to put protection enchantments on it as well, so we can control, who comes through." Hermione realized.

"Sounds like we've got a lot to do! Good news is, we're almost done, working on Festus. He should be good to go, by the time Rachel gets back." Leo declared.

"Right. Now, all you need is a prophesy. Let me know, how that goes." Jason said bitterly and left.

"Jason!" Piper called after him, and tried to stand up, only to be pushed back down by Will.

"Let him cool off a bit, Piper." He said. "It was hard to be me, when Apollo was cast out. I can't imagine how hard it must be for Jason to hear us talking about doing it to his dad. You know, what happened to Apollo, was horrible in a way, but it also made him better. He feels better now, more balanced. Being human allows gods to work on their feelings. It makes them hurt, but it also teaches them to work through it. I think it might be a valuable lesson for Zeus. I'm in." He said, looking to Nico.

"Me too" Frank and Reyna chorused.

"In." Came from Reyna.

"You know, if anyone knows about Zeus' punishments, it would be me. And I got a mild one. I don't want to hurt Zeus, but I know, that many lives will be spared, and the future might be better if we can do this. I'm with you." Calypso declared.

"And I'm with you" Leo said, looking at Calypso.

Percy had been skeptical, but after hearing Calypso's little speech, he decided as well. "You've got me as well."

"And me, Annabeth offered."

"Then let's get planning."

 **I don't know if I missed something about the earthquake-powers with Percy. Maybe he can do it, but mostly he's just using water. At Mt St Helens, he called to the sea too, basically creating a geyser, that launched him into the air.**

 **The thing about the memory spell on her parents is, that she has the capability to do it, but she is basically back to before going on the run from Death Eaters. She can do it, but the question is if she should. If she reversed the memory spell, it would only put them back in danger, so would seeing them, which makes for a really shitty situation.**

 **One of the things I like about Hermione is, that she is generally very composed. Of course, she cries, from time to time, she gets angry, but she doesn't throw anything near the temper tantrums and breakdowns, Harry and Ron are throwing, front, left, and center. That makes me think, that she would be better at reigning in her powers as well. Probably some tremors from time to time though.**

 **Also. I never liked Ron. I could write many curse words about him, but I shall try to refrain.**


	18. Chapter 18

They sat for a while, strategizing, particularly planning the trip to Ogygia.

Leo had been able to expand Festus a little, making room for four people.

"I've seen enough of that island. I don't need to see it again, but if I make a list, could I get you to bring me some of the plants from my old garden? I want to plant them here." Calypso declared.

"Of course, baby girl" Leo replied, kissing his girlfriend. The two of them could be nauseatingly sweet together.

Over the last couple of days, Hermione had gotten the impression, that Calypso didn't like her very much. Whenever Hermione entered a room, Calypso would soon excuse herself and leave. She would avoid talking to Hermione, and when she couldn't avoid it, her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. At first, Hermione supposed it was because she was new to the group, but she was starting to think differently. She would have to do something about it soon. That kind of confrontation was always horrible though, she was hoping to avoid it.

"Then, who will go? Me and Hermione, obviously" Leo pointed out.

"Me too" Nico unsurprisingly volunteered.

"I think I'd like Percy to come too?" Hermione half asked.

Percy looked up at her, surprised.

"Me?"

"I might need your help. I don't know the layout of the island, or the magic that surrounds it. If we're unlucky, I might create a tsunami, that's going hit a magical barrier and turn around, to hit us in our faces. You could contain it."

Percy sat, blinking. He hadn't expected that. He looked to Annabeth, who just gave him a small smile.

"Um, sure. Okay." he agreed.

Percy felt awkward. Getting a little sister, was kind of easy, when she came from his mom and Paul. He felt prepared for that, after nine months of getting used to the idea. Getting a little sister, who was practically adult, was more powerful than him and had been kept a secret by people he knew and trusted, was very very different. He had gone from angry, to confused, to protective, and now awkward. Supremely awkward. He felt all the things, he imagined big brothers were supposed to feel, but he didn't feel comfortable with those feelings. He sure as hell didn't feel comfortable about the close bond, she obviously had with Nico. He still didn't know what to make of it. He wanted to protect her, but did he even have the right to be protective? He had only been her brother for a couple of days, and even so, they were more like awkward acquaintances.

…

When the meeting was concluded, everyone went by their business as usual. Frank and Annabeth, had gone out to find Jason. They had been called out, to settle a dispute between the people from the Athena Cabin, and some legionnaires. Being an Athena-kid in a Roman camp, wasn't easy.

Nico took Hermione's hand, and led her down the guest wing.

"So. My dad says hi." he said cheerfully.

"Does he now?" Hermione deadpanned, reclaiming her own hand, crossing her arms in front of her, turning towards him in the hall.

She looked at him, eyebrows raised.

He looked uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, you couldn't come. It could have had a lot of consequences if you did. If it was discovered, that Hades knew about you, and didn't notify Zeus immediately, it would be a scandal, diplomatically. As it is, Hermes has openly sided with Zeus, and isn't delivering messages to or from Poseidon anymore, and Poseidon is confined to his underwater palace for the time being. Zeus thinks, that if he can cut off the communications to Olympus, Poseidon can't gain followers there. He's still underestimating the minor gods though." Nico explained.

"What sure followers, does Zeus have at Olympus? It would be best for our plan, if there are as many neutral ones, as possible, not followers of Poseidon." Hermione pointed out, giving up her anger.

"Well, He'll definitely have Hera. She wouldn't compromise her own marriage, by angering her husband any further. He was pretty sore, after she went along with her plans in the war against Gaia, without consulting him. Hermes has openly declared allegiance, and my dad thinks that he might also have Ares, Hephaestus and Aphrodite. It's likely that Dionysus and Demeter and Artemis will side with Poseidon. The rest will probably remain neutral, and my dad thinks we have a good shot at Apollo helping us keep the peace at Olympus."

"But does Poseidon even want a war?"

"He might not have a choice. If Zeus decides on a direct attack, Poseidon will have no choice, but defend himself, and if all the minor gods, and some of the Olympians want him on the throne, he might have to take it. Better him than Ares, for instance, if there's a power vacuum."

Hermione sighed, looking defeated.

"All that mess, just because of me."

"Don't be stupid, we both know you're not. All this tension has built up, over centuries of grudges and bad communication." Nico pointed out.

She chuckled "Now, I know how Harry feels. I don't know, how many times I told him, the war wasn't his fault. Sorry for my self-pity.

He just smiled and took her hand again.

"I missed you." He said, looking her in the eye.

Hermione was just about to reply, when she was interrupted by Leo yelling "DINNER!" from the kitchen.

Instead, she huffed and yelled back "COMING!"

She looked back at him crinkling her nose. "Leo is an expert in bad timing, isn't he?"

When they came back to the dining room, everything was lined up, for tofu burgers. It smelled glorious, and tasted it too.

After eating, Leo and Hermione went into the living room, to look at the fireplace. After some minutes, the others joined them, Buford the wonder table following with a large bowl of fruit. Annabeth, Jason and Frank had returned as well, Will joining them, his boyfriend working late.

Leo and Hermione, were both lying on their backs, heads inside the fireplace, gesturing at the special features, Leo had installed, trying to determine which one was sabotaging Hermione's attempt at establishing a Floo connection. Leo was fascinated with Hermione's magic, and was trying to understand the Floo system, comparing it to the Labyrinth.

Pulling her head out of the fireplace, Hermione looked up, seeing Calypso glaring at her, huffing and storming out. Hermione looked after her, bewildered. It didn't seem like any of the others had noticed Calypso's abrupt departure, but Hermione resigned herself to the fact, that she would have to speak with the girl. And soon. She had an idea what it might be about, but Hermione was in no way interested in Leo.

Leo slid out of the fireplace too, and Hermione saw that he was covered in soot. She turned her wand to him, muttering "Scourgify".

"Dang girl! That tickles!" he laughed.

She turned her wand at herself, repeating the process. She went over, and sat in a sofa beside Nico leaning on him. The others were gathered around the living room. Leo lit a fire for them, creating a warm atmosphere, with orange dancing light. He seemed to notice Calypso was missing, and went out to find her.

…

Nico felt good. Sure, the world was slowly falling to pieces around them, but honestly, when wasn't it? He was surrounded by the people he considered friends. The people that meant the most to him. Especially the girl, he enjoyed sitting so close with.

For a while, they all sat in comfortable silence, when Nico spotted something amusing in the fruit bowl. He reached over, picking it up, presenting it to Hermione.

"Pomegranate?" He offered, with a cheeky smile.

Hermione blushed and swatted at his stomach.

"Okay, that's it! I thought you were gay!" Percy exclaimed, pointing at Nico.

 _Great, Percy, thanks for pointing that out in front of my potential love interest_ , Nico grumbled internally

Hermione snorted loudly and everyone turned their eyes to her. She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please!" She exclaimed. "Like anyone could ever put Nico di Angelo in a box like that. No matter what kind of box you put out, Nico will never fit in any of them. Dark, light? Gay, straight? Old, young? No matter what, he will always be in the grey area in between. He will never be one or the other." She pointed out.

"I thought you knew him." She accused, walking over to the glass door, wanting to cool off on the patio.

She left a group of stunned looking people behind. The only ones, that didn't seem surprised, were Will, and Nico himself.

Will gave a small smile, and nodded at Nico, indicating that he wanted to speak privately. They walked out of the living room, down a hall.

Will stopped, leaning against a wall. He looked at Nico with a cocked eyebrow and a teasing smirk "So. A girl."

"Yeah, I know. I know what you're going to say, it's just that she's… and we.. I don't know. It's impossible to explain. Whenever we touch, it just feels so.. We're like..-"

"You're in harmony." Will said with a gentle smile on his face.

"Gods, you sound like your father now" Nico rolled his eyes.

"No, just hear me out. Do you know about the first humans?"

"You mean the four arms, four legs, two heads theory?"

"It's not a theory, Nico. I just want you to be happy. So, what if she's it? How long are you going to wait?"

Nico couldn't find an answer to that.

…

"Why in the name of Hades, would you say that, Percy, you complete idiot!?" Piper hissed.

"I just don't like it! And I don't like him flirting with her, and leading her on! I don't want her getting hurt!" Percy defended.

"Honestly, the way they look at each other? It's a damn miracle, they haven't even kissed yet. They sleep in the same bed, after all." Reyna pointed out, making Percy look green.

"I don't care." Hazel interrupted. "If they're happy, I really don't care."

"Think about Apollo" Jason said, quietly. "Hazel's right. It really doesn't matter."

"Being a big brother is horrible" Percy declared. "I really can't recommend it."

…

Hermione had gone out on the Patio, trying to cool down, but found another subject of aggravation instead.

Calypso.

"And you! What is your problem?! I'm not after your boyfriend, so what is it?!" she half screamed.

Calypso looked at her, bewildered.

"Boyfriend? Of course, you're not after my boyfriend, you're all over Nico!" She replied indignant.

"Then what is your problem with me?" Hermione hissed.

Calypso suddenly looked embarrassed.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. "Did you know, that I used to be a great sorceress? I'm the daughter of Titans, and I was immortal." She said, looking wistful. "Zeus punished me for my father's deeds. He confined me to the island Ogygia. I was to spend eternity there, while the gods sent me heroes to fall in love with, only to laugh at my heartbreak, whenever they would leave. Zeus was supposed to release me after the Titan war, but he didn't. Leo came back for me." She gave a wet laugh, as if she still didn't quite believe it herself. "When I left Ogygia, I lost all my powers. I don't regret leaving, not for a second. I don't miss immortality, or the servants, but I do miss my magic. It feels like I'm missing a limb, and it's painful. What Hazel can do with the Mist is amazing, but what you do is so close to what my own powers used to be. I'm sorry, that I'm so bitter. I don't mean to be. It just hurts. All of you have these amazing powers and abilities, and compared to you, I just feel so useless." She ended, choking back a sob, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, Calypso." Hermione whispered, drawing the weeping girl in for a hug. "That's not true. I've seen your garden, and what you are growing there is extraordinary. I know herbologists, who would cut their left leg, if it meant they could do, what you do. I've honestly never seen anything like it. Many of those plants are so rare, and so hard to grow, that they are considered myths." She told her. Calypso looked at her intently, searching for lies or pity in Hermione's eyes. She found neither. "There are more ways of magic, than levitating things or turning people into frogs. I have some potions books in my bag, I think you should take a look at. You could be amazing." Hermione, suddenly got busy, pulling her purse out of her pocket, digging out book after book, thrusting them into Calypso's arms. After the fourth book, Leo came out of the shadows. Hermione had the impression, that he had been standing there for a while. "Dang, girl. What is that, Time Lord technology?" He asked with a cheeky wink. He then went to embrace Calypso, whispering in her ear. He took her books under one arm, and they walked back inside. "Thanks, Hermione" Calypso said, smiling, back over her shoulder.

…

Hermione chuckled. She felt better now, but the evening was beautiful. She decided staying outside a little more couldn't hurt. She walked down past the swimming pool, chuckling, as the small ripples in the water, followed her movements. She stopped, leaning against the railing at the end of the patio, looking down the lawn. Further down, she could see Leo's workshop, and looking sideways, she could see the twinkling of the moonlace in Calypso's garden.

"You're not as stealthy as you think, Ghost King." She said out loud, making Nico step out of the shadows, smiling sheepishly.

"So. I take it my brother isn't known for being the most tactful person in the world?"

He gave a small nervous laugh, rubbing his neck. "How do you figure?" he joked.

She hesitated "I don't care about that, you know that, right?" she whispered.

"I might have some idea." He mumbled.

"I spoke with Apollo about this once." He continued. "He came to me one day, when he was human. I was in a relationship with Will, at the time. He told me, that while he was happy, for me and Will, it wasn't meant to be in the long run. That we both had other people waiting for us, and not to be sad, when we fell apart. He could see it in me, you know. The confusion. He had had, both male and female lovers. He gave me a long poem about following my heart or gut or whatever. That's just really, hard if your heart and your gut tries to take you in different directions." He chuckled self-deprecatingly. "I was so confused. But since meeting you again, I haven't been confused at all. I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too. Gods, I've missed you." She said, her eyes shining.

Nico felt like he couldn't really say anything more. So he did, exactly, what his gut and his heart told him unanimously, and kissed her.

I felt glorious. The power he had felt, the first time they touched, was doubled tenfold. Her lips were warm and soft, and so much better than he had imagined. For a moment, he was worried, that he might drain her, like the first time he held her hand, but he had learned to control himself. It was hard though. Her power was intoxicating, everything about her was.

He broke the kiss, and rested his forehead against hers. "I can't lose you again" He whispered.

"You won't. I won't allow it." She deadpanned

"Bossy" He chuckled. He kissed her forehead and took her hand, leading her back inside. Choosing to ignore the fact, that all the curtains were moving, from where ten people had been peeking through them.

 **So. Longest chapter yet, and a pretty important one, for me at least.**

 **Please leave a review for me. I really love it, when you do. :)**


	19. Chapter 19

_Hermione woke up with a pounding headache. She was dizzy and disoriented. Everything was distorted and out of focus, as if she was submerged in water._

 _She was in a very large room, her brain vaguely told her. There were large columns of black marble. She was lying on her side on a soft settee, covered in red velour. Glancing down, she could see the frame and legs were made out of what seemed to be solid gold. And precious stones. Very expensive settee, then. From this, she deducted she must have been in some sort of palace or manor._

 _In front of her stood Nico, with his back turned. He was standing in front of a small podium, that housed two large chairs, no thrones. Palace then. But which palace? One of the thrones was made of gold and the other was made of… bones?_

 _The golden chair was empty but on the other, sat a man, unlike any man, Hermione had ever seen. She had thought Nico was pale, but he looked tanned in front of compared to this man. He was wearing black robes, not unlike some wizards, but the fabric was fascinating, in a morbid way. It was as if tormented souls were woven into the very threads, and sometimes their faces would show, depicting their agony. His hair was black, and on it sat a golden crown. The king of the palace, obviously, but where was the palace?_

 _Nico stood, gesturing wildly, often in her direction, obviously trying to explain something. She couldn't hear it though. Her ears were popping wildly, as if she had just been in one of the crazy carts, on a trip to the lowest vaults at Gringotts._

 _The man looked from her, to Nico and back, with a strange expression of worry mixed with a certain amount of frustration._

 _Hermione felt weak, as if her body was made of lead. She tried to sit up, but failed to even move her hand. She felt her eyes closing again, without her permission._

…

 _When she woke up again, she was lying on a bed, with silk sheets. She was wearing a white nightgown in a silken fabric, that was impossibly soft. She really hoped it had been changed with magic, otherwise things might have been awkward. She felt better now, better than she had in a long time, in fact. She tried to sit up, and it was only then, she realized the mattress was dipping. Nico was sitting on a chair, his head resting on his arm on her mattress. He was fast asleep, his hair tousled, and his mouth slightly open._

 _Hermione thought he was beautiful. She hadn't actually noticed how tense he had been, until now, when she saw him truly relaxed. The difference was staggering. She could feel, rather than see him, waking up. It was as if the very energy that was swirling in him, started stirring and his body stiffened into a ball of anxiety again. When he opened his eyes, and saw her staring at him, they both blushed._

" _I am so – so sorry." He said, heavy guilt portrayed in all his features._

" _What happened?" She said, hoarsely, as if she hadn't used her voice for weeks, which made her very nervous."_

" _I really didn't mean to. I didn't know, you have to believe me" He implored._

" _Alright" She found herself saying, confused, by why she actually felt like she could trust him. After all, he had basically kidnapped her, and who knows, what he did to her, to make her black out._

 _Nico looked equally bewildered in her trust. Apparently, that came in short supply._

" _I didn't mean it" He whispered. Tears shining in his eyes. "I almost killed you."_

 _Hermione really questioned her own sanity, when she found, that she still trusted him._

" _I didn't know, I could do something like that, but when I touched you, I started draining your power, your life force. I couldn't let go. You were so close, I could feel you fading away" He said, tears of guilt now streaming down his face._

 _Hermione didn't know, what to make of that, but in the end, her famous curiosity reared its head._

" _But how did you do it? Was it some sort of curse?"_

 _He snorted softly, looking down. "Oh, I'm cursed alright." He muttered so quietly, she almost couldn't hear it._

" _Then how did you heal me? Was it a healing spell, or a potion or something else?"_

" _I gave you nectar and ambrosia. But don't worry, it didn't come from here." She didn't know what to make of the 'didn't come from here', but it lead her to another question._

" _Where exactly is here? And if I can't get that nectar and ambrosia here, then where can I find it? I've never heard about it, even in the wizarding world. I feel amazing, it could revolutionize the healing system" She ranted excitedly._

 _He suddenly looked very tired._

" _First of all, it can't revolutionize your system. It only works on some very… specific people. It will kill everyone else ingesting it."_

 _She looked a little crestfallen._

" _But then how did you know it wouldn't kill me. What makes me so special?"_

" _Gods, I wish my dad was here for this" He muttered under his breath. "It works for people, who have a parent who is a god. Greek god. In your case, your dad."_

" _No he's not." She snorted. "My dad is a dentist. Sure he's a good one, but I doubt anyone has ever called him a god. Dentists usually don't get that kind of praise."_

" _Um…" He really hadn't been prepared for that kind of direct disbelief. "Then, maybe your mother had an affair?"_

" _Are you insane?" She hissed. Looking around, as if expecting one of her parents to jump out at the accusation._

" _My mother was raised in a very strict Christian household. She could never do that! In fact, she almost kicked me out, when she found out I was a witch!"_

 _Now Nico looked really perplexed._

" _Well, fact is, that your father is Poseidon. I could feel it, my dad could feel it. Haven't you ever wondered, how the water is following you?"_

 _She sat back, running through everything she knew about Poseidon through her head._

 _She looked up, and saw him studying her, waiting for her to make some sort of connection._

 _Then it clicked._

" _What about earthquakes?"_

 _Nico's eyes widened. He hadn't expected that. He had never seen Percy doing anything like that._

" _Sometimes, when I'm angry or scared, the earth shakes. We always just thought it was accidental magic" She looked at him, with a faraway expression, as if she was reliving her past experiences._

" _Poseidon IS your father."_

" _But that still doesn't make any sense! I'm absolutely certain, that my mother would never cheat on my father, and they were married for ten years before having me!"_

" _Wait a minute. Ten years is a long time to wait, having a baby."_

" _What are you saying?"_

" _Could it be possible that they aren't your biological parents?" He asked carefully._

 _Hermione's world broke a little, but not a lot. When it came down to it, she already knew. Her parents both had blue eyes. Hers were brown. She was a genetical impossibility._

" _I suppose. Is that why I have magic? Because I'm supposedly the daughter of some god?"_

" _No," He said, smiling, happy for the change of subject. "That's something completely different. What do you know of the beginning of the magical community?"_

" _The beginning? Well, there aren't so many facts. Just myths, really, but I don't tend to put much stock in them."_

" _You're a witch, you can create earthquakes and manipulate water, because you're the daughter of Poseidon. Your very existence is a myth. Who are you to judge?" He asked, with a teasing grin._

 _She huffed, "Well, if you must know, there are several theories and… myths."_

" _One theory is, that access to magic is basically a genetic mutation, which would explain muggleborns. It hasn't been scientifically proven, because the ministry won't research anything, based on muggle scientific theories, because they're old farts, who only care for their precious pure blood and staying in their seats of power." She ranted._

 _He sat, listening intently throughout her speech._

" _I don't know much about genetics," He honestly said "But it is probable, that it might be passed down through generations. The magical community was founded, when Hecate blessed a group of people with magic. It might be possible, that she is still blessing some people from time to time. From what I could tell about your community, new blood is not a bad thing."_

" _Damn right it isn't!" She emphasized._

 _Nico lifted an eyebrow at her._

" _Just don't tell Hecate that there are theories, that her blessed are mutants. She's easily offended." He deadpanned._

 _She chuckled._

" _Wait, if I'm the daughter of Poseidon, who are you the son of? And you still haven't answered, where we are."_

 _He stiffened visibly and looked down._

 _He didn't speak for a long time, and when Hermione was about to ask again, he answered hesitantly._

" _I'm the son of Hades." He sighed. "I couldn't let go, and I accidentally took you to the Underworld with me."_

 _He looked so defeated, like he was waiting for some kind of violent rejection or huge fallout._

" _Huh." Hermione said._

 _She looked around the room, taking note of all the details. The intricate carvings of the four-poster bed and the vanity in the corner, and the chair in front of it, with its dark red upholstery. Everything was done in red and dark brown wood with gold details. At the vanity was a gold framed ruby encrusted mirror._

" _I never expected it to be quite so beautiful."_

 _Whatever reaction he expected, this clearly wasn't it. He looked at her, as if she were an alien, or as if he wasn't quite sure she even existed._

" _Excuse me?" He said._

" _Well, it's beautiful."_

" _You do know, this is the Underworld we're talking about, right? You're not scared at all?"_

" _Scared? No. As my headmaster once said 'To the well-organized mind, Death is but the next great adventure' If anything, I'm insanely curious. I would love a tour! Can we do that?" She asked excitedly._

 _Now Nico just looked at her as if she was insane._

 _There was a small knock, and in the door frame stood none other, than Hades himself, an amused smile playing on his lips._

" _I'm sure that can be arranged," He said "Wouldn't you say, Nico?"_

 _Now Nico looked as if both of them had gone crazy._


	20. Chapter 20

Nico and Hermione were enjoying the next days to their fullest, as only time fated lovers could. In only a few days, Rachel Dare would arrive. Any minute, the world might burn around them. At times like that, life was about living it to its fullest.

Their time went with kissing, talking, flirting and kissing a little more.

That's not to say that they were lazy.

Out in the garden, there was a small training ground. They needed to test Hermione's powers in Ogygia, but that didn't mean they didn't have anything to do now.

Nico was worried, that Hermione might be too rusty with sword fighting and hand-to-hand combat, so he had brought her out to train. After a light breakfast, they had both gotten dressed in black loose pants, and tank tops. After a light warm-up, they agreed to start out hand-to-hand.

"Are you sure you're ready for this, princess?" He taunted.

"Why don't you come and find out?" She smirked.

And then he charged at her, with no mercy or hesitation. A far cry from their early day training sessions.

She managed to grab one arm, twisting it around and flipping him over her shoulder, making him land on his back, the air knocked from his lungs. As retaliation, he grabbed her ankle, pulling her foot out from under her, making her cry out in surprise, but he hadn't expected her to manage twisting in her fall to land on top of him, knocking the air from his lungs for a second time.

She kissed him with a cheeky smile and got up, stretching her arm out to help him up. "Again?" she asked with a smirk.

Next round it was her time ending on her belly on the ground, Nico sitting behind her, his arms around her neck and head, in a choke hold.

"And you're dead." He said cheerfully

She growled and tried to kick him from behind, making him chuckle.

Eventually she had to admit her defeat.

The next round was hers though. He charged at her again, but this time, she sidestepped, kicking him behind his right knee, making him buckle. She then stood behind him, choke holding him. He managed to stand up again, and somehow flip her over. She landed with surprising grace, twisting around and sweeping his knees. She flipped him onto his belly secured his arms behind his back, testing out a non-verbal sticking charm. She then put him in the same choke hold he had held her in.

"Give in?" She teased. He growled his assent and she released him. He rolled to his back, struggling to get up, his hands still stuck.

"You fight dirty" he glowered, ever the sore loser.

"Smart, Pretty boy, I fight smart." She smirked.

Having properly warmed up now, they decided moving on to the swords. Nico picked up the swords that were lying off to the side, while Hermione checked her wrappings.

"We're going to have an audience" She said over her shoulder, seeing Frank, Piper, Leo and Calypso coming towards them. "You want to give them a show?" Nico asked, giving Hermione her custom made sword.

Her only reply was a smirk, which he copied.

They went a few small rounds, training basic moves, testing, to make sure they were still in tune with each other.

The others had come around to sit, watching them train.

Nico looked over at Hermione.

"Like old times?"

"Like old times." She confirmed.

Nico crouched down, putting a hand on the ground, feeling for the restless souls of soldiers in the Underworld, who had died, looking for a fight.

When he stood up, the ground cracked, and ten zombies clawed their way out of the earth.

The others looked on, slightly horrified, while Hermione was jumping on the balls of her feet smiling maniacally in sheer uncontained excitement.

They went back to back, fighting zombies, slicing and stabbing, dancing around each other. Thick black blood was spraying or oozing everywhere, making their weapons slick, and covering them in black specs and smears. Hermione wasn't the most traditional fighter.

When she was down to the last zombie, she kicked him down, much like she had done with Nico. Only instead of a choke hold, she grabbed the guy's hair, decapitating him, her specialized sword gliding through the zombie flesh like a knife through butter.

In the end, she stood, panting, holding a severed head in one hand and her sword in the other.

"Man," she said to Nico, throwing the head down on the ground, where the other zombie bodies and severed limbs were already dissolving "I always feel better after a good decapitation"

"You always say that" He chuckled, as they were walking towards their shocked friends.

…

"That, was mind-blowing, you guys." Frank exclaimed, a little disturbed, watching as they stood, covered in blood in front of him.

Leo looked at Hermione curiously, as she cleaned her sword.

"Hey, Milkshake, can I see your sword for a bit?" He asked Hermione.

She gave Nico a quick glance.

"Sure, just don't go anywhere with it, I want to clean it properly" she replied, throwing the sword to Leo, who yelped and fumbled with it, making Frank chuckle.

Leo finally got the sword under control, and started studying the blade.

"Whoa… Is this what I think it is?" he asked, pointing at the black swirls.

"Depends what you think it is." Nico replied.

"Celestial Bronze with a Stygian Iron fusion? Leo asked with incredulous awe.

Piper looked at the sword over Leo's shoulder with a small gasp

"It's so beautiful" she gushed.

"I've never seen anything like it. This might be one of the most dangerous blades in the world" Leo said excitedly "I mean, this is ingenious. Where did you even get this?" he asked, looking at Nico and Hermione.

"Thanks, I guess." Nico said, rubbing his neck, embarrassed at the inadvertent praise. "I designed it, and my dad had it made for her."

"You? _You_ designed this? And Hades, _the_ Hades, had it made _especially_ for you?" Leo asked incredulous, pointing at Nico and Hermione respectively.

"Yeah. My dad always had a soft spot for Hermione. I think he's trying to make a trade off with Poseidon actually. No such luck though. I'm not the greatest prize, compared to her, I'm afraid" Nico said, hugging his girlfriend from behind.

"How would he know that?" She asked, looking down away.

"What do you mean?" Frank asked.

"Well, you all met your godly parents, right? Poseidon never deigned to show himself to me." She spat bitterly.

"Hey, he'll turn up. One day, when you least expect it." Nico told her gently, taking her hand.

The two of them walked back into the house to wash up.

As they went, Hermione was unwrapping her hands. She had bound them, all the way up to her elbow, hiding the wound from her torture, that Nico knew was still bothering her.

"We should see Will about this", he said, gesturing at her forearm.

She sighed "I don't know if he can do anything about it. Magic is different here, and it was made with a cursed blade."

"Can't hurt to try." He coaxed.

She could see his point, but couldn't shake a feeling of unease.

"Okay. We'll try" she conceded in the end. "After Ogygia"

…

Percy wasn't having a great time. Hermione wasn't speaking to him. When he had cut his leg during sword practice, Will Solace healed him perfectly as he always did, but there were no smiles or small talk.

Piper was also a bit chilly towards him, but the others were trying, even if their smiles were a bit stiff.

What made matters worse was, that Nico himself was trying, and even turned out to be a caring and attentive boyfriend. It was really difficult to hate him. He supposed this was what Leo meant, about the frustration of trying to hate a good guy.

Sometimes though, he still felt like wringing the guy's neck, when he saw him sneaking a kiss with Hermione or pulling her with him into the shadows.

He knew he should apologize, but that was easier said, than done (pun intended).

He was lucky to run into Nico alone in the dining room, one evening. Rachel was coming back, and they really needed to clear the air before leaving for Ogygia.

Nico was walking in the opposite direction, but Percy stopped him in his tracks.

"Hey, man. Can we talk?"

"Well, I certainly know, that you're capable." Nico snarked back.

"Look, I'm sorry, for jumping down your throat like that."

Nico looked at him with a raised eyebrow, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

"It's just, that this is really very confusing for me. This whole big brother thing is throwing me off, and I honestly thought you didn't like girls!" Percy exclaimed

"I don't, to be honest. Like girls, that is. Only her. I don't know why, it's always just been like that." Nico tried to explain.

"That doesn't make any sense." Percy deadpanned.

"It does if you know her. Maybe you should try that. You're not the only one, who thinks the situation is weird. True, I told her about you, and you didn't know, but at the moment, she's under the impression that you don't like her. Fix. It." Nico ranted.

"I just think she's overreacting a bit. I don't know how to approach her. It seems that all I do is make her angry." Percy tried.

"I know you got off on the wrong foot, but you can fix it. I can try talking to her for you, making her see it from your perspective."

"Thanks man! I really owe you one"

"Consider us even, after keeping your sister secret for several years." Nico said, winking at him.

…

Nico had been on his way to the kitchen for a drink, when he ran into Percy. Grabbing two bottles of water from the fridge, he went back to the living room, where Hermione was still tinkering with the fireplace.

He tapped one of the water bottles against her knee, and she came out, again covered in soot.

"I've almost got it, I think." Hermione exclaimed excitedly.

"That's great, Princess" Nico smiled, then turning serious, sitting down next to her.

"How long are you going to give Percy the cold shoulder?"

"I just don't understand it. How can they not know you? You've known him for like, a decade, but still, he doesn't know you." She pointed out.

He sighed. "You know, when people meet, they get certain impressions of each other. That impression can really hard to break out of. These guys only see one side of me, but in the end, that's not only their fault. I haven't done much to change that impression. Especially with Percy." He reflected.

"For a long time, I blamed him for Bianca's death. Even though I know that it really wasn't his fault, it's hard to let grudges like that go. That, added to the fact, that I actually had a crush on him once, things between us have always been a bit awkward." He added, embarrassed.

"I don't know, what to make of him though. He found out he had a sister, and threw himself into a river. Not exactly a normal reaction."

"Give him a break. He had no preparation, and besides, the river is his thinking place. Just try to talk with him."

She sighed. "I'll try. I promise. I won't guarantee a good result though." She conceded, putting her head on her shoulder.

 **Please leave me a review :) Make my day**


	21. Chapter 21

Hermione went out to the pool, that Percy was predictably sitting on the bottom of.

She tried using the same trick as she had the first day there, trying to coax the water into spitting Percy out. This time Percy was prepared though, and being far superior than her at controlling the water, Hermione ended up being pulled down by a large hand shaped wave.

He manipulated currents into bring her down in front of him, where she sat, glaring at him, her hair dancing in the water.

"Speak" was all she said.

He opened and closed his mouth several times.

"I, - look, I'm sorry. I'm not very good at this. This whole situation is completely insane, and I guess I'm not handling it very well."

She sighed. "Well, neither am I, I guess. I mean, I knew about you. Nico told me about you and Tyson, so it's not like I was unprepared, but you were never actually real in my head. When I was younger, you were always a sort of fantasy, like having an invisible best friend or something."

He chuckled at that.

"When I was a kid, I sometimes dreamt I had a baby sister. Most times, when demigods dream, the dreams mean something. Back then, I didn't know that they might mean something. I just dreamt I had a sister, and thought 'cool'. Later, when I found out about the dreams, I thought, that maybe it was a fluke. Then, I my mom had a baby girl a couple of years ago, and I thought that she was it, and now I find out, that I had a sister all along. How insane is that?" He whispered.

Hermione crawled over and sat beside him, putting her head on his shoulder.

"My best friend actually looks incredibly much like you. I wonder if there's something subconscious going on there."

"I saw. He's kinda handsome" He grinned, and she swatted at his stomach.

"Yeah, well, he's taken, and his girlfriend gets jealous" She teased.

Percy realized, they were having their first moment, teasing each other in the way that only siblings can. He hoped there would be more to come. It was surprisingly nice.

"And I'm sorry about Nico too. As I said, I'm not handling this very well."

"Don't worry about it. Nico gave me some perspective, that made me think. Each of us are shaped from our experiences, and it affects the way we are around people. You saw him at his worst, and that's just how it stayed, because there was never rest. I can feel it in myself. When I'm with him, I forget all the stuff that's happened in the last five years, and for that, I act differently. I'm sure I would have been acting differently, had I stayed in Britain." She said, scratching her forearm.

"What happened?" He asked gently.

"It's a dangerous world we live in, Percy. Here, we are attacked by Monsters, Giants and Primordial Gods. I can understand that. They don't follow the same moral code or have the kind of empathy that comes with being human." She reflected.

"It's what humans do to each other, that scares me the most, to be honest. The wizarding world just came out of its own war. I fought. Humans against humans. It was despicable. Children were slaughtered, innocent people imprisoned or tortured, simply for being born. I was deemed unworthy, because I wasn't born into a wizarding family. Me and Harry, and for a while, our other friend, Ron, were on the run for about a year, preparing to take down their leader, who had made an attempt at becoming immortal. We finally took him down a little more than a month ago."

"But what else happened? I'm not a stranger to combat or hardship, but I can tell there's more." He said, pointing at where her had was scratching her arm.

Hermione sighed and rolled up her sleeve, revealing the big half-healed wound, spelling MUDBLOOD in big angry letters.

"I was tortured." She whispered. "We got caught, and they needed information. I've never been so scared in my entire life. I've never told anyone, not even Nico. I was so scared of losing control. If I had started shaking the earth, the manor we were in would have collapsed. They had Ron and Harry in the basement, they would have been buried. I was so scared" She started sobbing, and Percy put his arm around her, comforting her at the bottom of the pool, where her tears could mix with the rest of the water.

…

Being an Oracle did not make one omniscient. Rachel Dare knew this. But generally, she got the large plotlines, and this was not your regular 'Oops, I didn't know it was your birthday'-situation.

She had been rather grumpy to come back from vacation, to find Camp Half-blood abandoned, with a note stuck to her cave, telling her to come to San Francisco. It was times like these, it was more a blessing than a curse, having a rich dad. That didn't happen often. She supposed she should cherish the moment, but at this point, annoyance won out.

Imagine her confusion though, when she walked into the kitchen of the House of Ten, and came face to face with a curly haired girl, screaming, being tickled by none other than a laughing Nico di Angelo, who was covered in what looked like strawberry smoothie.

When he spun the girl around to face him and kissed her enthusiastically, Rachel was so confused, she could only stand and stare in morbid fascination.

Percy came up behind her, an empty glass in his hand, cringing at the sight.

"Ugh, I know, right" he said. "Nico, knock it off, stop molesting my sister!" Nico reluctantly released Hermione, and they turned in the direction of the voice

"Alright! What in Hades is going on, and Who. Are. You?" Rachel growled, narrowing her eyes at Hermione, supremely pissed off at being out of the loop.

Hermione only smiled widely, strawberry smoothie in her hair.

"You must be Rachel! I'm Hermione, Percy's sister!" She stretched her hand towards Rachel, who shook it on reflex, getting her hand sticky with strawberry.

"I saw your artwork on the walls, they're amazing, really." Hermione continued, while Rachel stood, staring at her with an open mouth, wiping her hands on her shorts.

"She doesn't look like you." She told Percy

"Neither does Tyson." Percy quipped.

She looked at him incredulously.

…

After the situation was explained to her, Rachel was still perplexed.

She didn't understand, how she could have missed this, but usually there were points to prophecies and their time of arrival.

Seeing Nico with Hermione made her happy though. He had been the most broken boy she had ever seen, but the normally broody guy was now looking happy and carefree. An expression she had never seen in him before.

Percy was also looking to be enjoying the situation, albeit very tentatively. She supposed he was still getting used to the situation, she knew that he sometimes didn't accept change very well.

The other half-bloods seemed to have adopted Hermione, in some situations, it seemed as if she had always been there. She was especially happy to see the bond she seemed to have formed with Calypso.

Calypso was often a bit of an outsider, simply because she hadn't been through the war with Gaia with the others. Surviving horrors like that, bound people together, which was why the house she was standing in had been built.

Rachel herself hadn't been part of Argo II, which this house was basically a continuation of, but she had always been the outsider, and she had been happy with that, but Calypso, not so much. It must have been horrible, to spend hundreds of years in isolation, only to be freed, to live the life as an outsider.

Now she watched, as Hermione and Calypso were speaking excitedly about a plant called moonlace, and its properties, she couldn't help but think, that maybe Hermione had been a piece of the puzzle, that had been missing. She had brought a balance, she hadn't seen the group needed.

…

That evening, the group sat down for dinner. They were so many at that time, that Hermione had to conjure extra chairs and expand the table. Will had brought his boyfriend, Joseph, taking their count to fourteen.

Rachel gasped harshly and went rigid in her seat. Her eyes glowing bright green. When she spoke, her voice sounded otherworldly, like they had come to expect from the oracle

" _The Lord of All, from heaven will fall,_

 _When the Shaking Earth will make the call_

 _The Heart of the Sun will shatter in pieces_

 _Until the foreign curse releases_

 _The lonely isle will feel the power_

 _The need will come for Apollo's flower_

 _A love that will not need nipped in the bud_

 _A fruit in crimson, the color of blood"_

Jason sat, his jaw clenching and unclenching during the prophecy.

"Well, that sounded cheerful" Leo quipped.

Will sat, contemplating his father's role in the events that were about to unfold. Things didn't sound good for the God of the Sun.

 **Please leave me a review. You know, I would love that :)**


	22. Chapter 22

"So, when are we picking her up?"

Harry sighed, exasperated beyond belief

"We're not"

"What do you mean, 'We're not'?

"We can't exactly go in, guns blazing, if she doesn't want to be rescued"

"Guns?"

Harry rolled his eyes "Yeah, you know, those muggle weapons, that shoot metal at a high speed. But never mind that. Point is, she's staying there."

"What, so we're not good enough for her anymore?" Ron raged.

"You know that's not what I meant"

"Why didn't you take me with you?! I could have convinced her!"

Harry huffed, almost at the end of his rope.

"She needs to stay there. For her safety."

"But that doesn't make any sense! We could keep her safe! I could keep her safe!" Ron yelled, red in the face.

"Not from this. I need to go talk with Kingsley. See you later" Harry said, escaping out out of the Burrow, apparating away.

…

He landed in the Atrium of the ministry, hurrying along the corridors, hoping he wouldn't the stopped for autographs. People were hounding him after the defeat of Voldemort, but after Hermione's disappearance, things had gotten even worse.

The theories were ridiculous, and went from her, joining the Death Eaters or being killed by them, to her leaving in shame, because Harry had entered a public relationship with Ginny.

Of course, the real reason was even more ludicrous, but they didn't know that, and Harry would do his best to make sure they wouldn't find out. He needed Kingsley though, and he trusted the man to be discreet.

"So, I spoke with Hermione, and apparently, she's staying with family she never told us she had." He quipped as he walked into Kingsley's office.

"She what?" Draco Malfoy asked, turning in his chair to face him, eyes wide and his eyebrows almost at his hairline.

Crap. There went his plans for keeping the secret.

"Look, Malfoy, can you just forget you heard that? What are you even doing here?"

Malfoy looked ready to protest, but his cheeks reddened, and he shut his mouth.

"Mr. Malfoy is here for a job interview, and really, Harry, you should learn to knock. For all our sakes." Kingsley took over.

"A job? As what?" Harry looked at Draco, bewildered.

"I want him as an auror." Kingsley continued. "He has the skill set to become great, and a knowledge of dark curses and wizards, that no one else has."

"And you can trust me, and I volunteered. And I won't tell anyone about Hermione."

Harry looked at him long and hard.

"Hermione? What happened to Granger? Or Mudblood?"

Draco looked down, ashamed.

"I was an idiot, and later, I had no choice" he whispered.

Harry clenched his jaw and sighed

"Fine. But can you guys finish? I really need to speak with you, Kingsley."

"Actually, do you mind sticking around?" Kingsley asked Harry, to the confusion of both young men.

"I have plans, that involve the both of you. I want to make you partners."

Draco and Harry looked at Kingsley with equal amounts of horror.

"Er, I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Minister." Draco said carefully.

"For once, I agree with Malfoy." Harry added. "I want to continue the case about Hermione. Even though we found her, there's still a lot of mystery and there's a conflict where she is, that I'm afraid could have consequences for our community, if not the world. There isn't a lot we can do to help, but there are mysteries here, that I think need solving."

Kingsley looked at him, concerned, but curious.

"And where exactly is she?"

"First I need an unbreakable vow." Harry said, determined.

"I knew she had secrets, but I never betrayed them. I'll take the vow if you want." Draco said quietly.

Harry narrowed his eyes at him

"What secrets were you hiding for Hermione?"

"She didn't know, that I knew, but I saw her using a Time-turner to sneak around with some guy during third year. I assume, this has something to do with that?"

Harry cursed under his breath.

"Unbelievable. Draco Malfoy knew before me!"

Draco smiled widely.

"More importantly, I didn't tell. I can keep secrets."

"But why?"

Draco sighed and leaned his head backwards, looking at the ceiling.

"Contrary to popular belief, I've always respected her. She is powerful, intelligent… cunning and ambitious. If not for her parentage, she would have been in Slytherin, and she would have _ruled_ it. Don't try to tell me differently. I'm great at observations. I mean, keeping a reporter in a jar, for an unspecified amount of time, luring Umbridge into the Forbidden Forest, to be smashed by a giant, or carried away by angry centaurs… Sneaking around using a restricted object. Very underhanded, I approve." He said with a smirk.

Harry looked at Draco in disbelief. Not because he wasn't right, because ultimately, he was. Harry just hadn't wanted to admit it.

"She also set Snape on fire, and brewed Polyjuice in second year." Harry deadpanned eventually.

Draco's eyes widened, and he started laughing out loud. It was a strange sound. Harry didn't think he had heard Draco laugh without mocking someone, but this was pure uncontrolled mirth.

"There you are. I'm sure you can find a way to work together. Now, shall we take the vow?" Kingsley suggested.

…

When the strands had left their clasped hands, Harry got started.

"I want to find Hermione's mum."

Kingsley frowned "But we already found her parents. They're in Australia"

"Not her real ones. We know who her father is, but we don't know about her mother."

"She's adopted?" Draco asked incredulously.

"I have an idea, that she might have gotten our kind of magic from her mother's side."

"What do you mean our kind of magic? Which other kinds are there?" Draco asked.

Harry looked at Draco. "Two, that I know of, at the moment. I'm keeping my mind open to more."

"Harry, get to the point." Kingsley interrupted.

Harry sighed. "It's complicated. Really complicated. Hermione is a half-blood, but not in the way we think. Her father is a god, making her a demigod."

Now, both Kingsley and Draco looked at him, as if he was crazy.

"I assume it is Hermione's father you believe to be a god? If that is the case, which god do you believe him to be?"

"She's the daughter of Poseidon." Harry said with certainty.

"Like, God of the Sea, Poseidon?" Draco asked skeptically.

"And earthquakes. Hermione can cause earthquakes."

"Alright, I'll bite. But what does that have to do with the skeleton?"

"Skeleton?" Harry asked.

"Yes. When I saw that guy, he was so skinny, he looked like he might fall over if the wind was too hard."

Harry sighed. "His name is Nico. He's a demigod too. I met more of them, when I was in San Francisco. These guys are amazing. You should have seen them. Apparently, it's dangerous being them. They attract monsters and have other enemies. This guy, Nico, trained Hermione in third year."

" _Trained_ her? Trained her in what? She already knows magic, and can defend herself very well, if I recall correct." Draco said, rubbing his nose.

"And I'm guessing Nico probably taught her to punch like that. Magic doesn't work well on the monsters hunting them. Just like it doesn't work well on other magical creatures. We were attacked by chimaeras, when I was there. All I could do, was put out fires."

"Chimaeras?" Kingsley asked, curious "Those are extremely rare. And extremely dangerous."

"They were concealed. They looked human, like Siamese twins. There were four of them in San Francisco. I don't know how many of those demigods were outside, but Hermione, Nico and another girl took down two on their own. As far as I understood, a lot of monsters prefer demigods, as snacks. Which might be why we consider them rare. Also, from what I understand, most demigods are in America. She mentioned something about a camp."

"Exactly, how many are there? And are they all Poseidon's kids?" Draco enquired

"No. I think that's just Hermione, and maybe another guy, called Percy. He definitely had control over the water, but I imagine there are many more. Hermione made it very clear, that Nico was _not_ her brother."

Draco looked at Harry pensively. "Then whose son, is he?"

"Hades." Harry said, his distaste clear. "But Hermione thinks he's a good guy, and he saved our lives. He is wicked with a sword and dagger, so I have to respect that."

"That makes sense" Draco murmered. Harry raised a brow at him.

"I'm trying really hard, not to sound like Lovegood here, but he had this dark aura, around him. Like really dark, but not necessarily malignant, like most dark magic is. And he was crazy powerful. I saw him disappear into the shadows once. Thought he was a ghost at that time."

"But what is the conflict in their world?" Kingsley asked.

"It's complicated. I don't know much more, than that Zeus is on the warpath, and apparently, it has something to do with Hermione. We know her father is Poseidon, but we don't know anything about her mother. I'd like to see, what we can find out. She was adopted around the time of the First Wizarding War, but I'd like to know, who her mother is, and what happened to her."

"Then this will be your first assignment together." Kingsley stated. "Go to the archives, and get a list over women, who died or went missing, during that time."

Draco and Harry looked to each other, wondering, when the other would start screaming insults, but it didn't happen to either of them. They were dismissed, and went to the archives. Coming out of the office, they passed a flustered looking man, in a specialized robe, signaling his belonging to the department of mysteries. The man rushed into the Minister's office, mumbling frantically about prophecies, making Draco wince, and Harry gulp.


	23. Chapter 23

The lonely isle was obviously referring to Ogygia. Hermione would have preferred not to analyze the prophecy any more than that, but the part about the foreign curse worried her.

She really didn't want the wizarding world involved in this. They had just come out of a war. They really didn't need another.

Shortly after hearing the prophecy, Jason left.

Piper sighed, when he left. "I'm sorry about him. He hasn't really been himself, with this whole conflict."

"It's all right. I can't imagine it's easy for him." Percy said. "Zeus has been hard on him, ignored him, and only had him as tribute to Hera. But then he meets his dad, and gets awestruck. I should know, it happens to me every time. Then we try to hold on to the good things our godly parents gave us. I was lucky, at least I got Poseidon."

Hermione looked at him incredulously, as he sat, casually speaking about meeting _his_ dad.

"Oh yes. Lucky you, Son of Poseidon." Hermione snarked, and stood up to leave. Nico grabbed her hand and squeezed it, sending a silent message, that he would find her later. She walked out to the training grounds, conjuring a dozen training dummies. She had pulled her hairpin out, twisting it into a sword in one fluid motion, decapitating the first dummy as she passed it.

…

" _Your_ dad?" Nico asked Percy sarcastically. "You do know, she's never met him, right? That he never even bothered to show up, or bothered to even tell her the name of her mother." He looked at Percy pointedly

Percy looked crestfallen.

"What? She doesn't know who her mom is?"

"Nope" Nico said, popping the 'p' "Not all of us get that luxury. Only one, who knows is Poseidon. She was adopted as a baby. The only reason she even found out she was a demigod, was because I found her and could feel the power of Poseidon in her. It was an absolute miracle she hadn't been eaten, by the time I found her. She was thirteen, and I could feel the power across the equivalent of two football fields. Either her mother died, or didn't want her and put her up for adoption, but either way, Poseidon abandoned her, and left her to fend for herself. She was left with no training, no network and no help, beyond what she could find in the magical world, and they don't teach you much about controlling earthquakes or sword fighting, especially with their own war going on. She is amazing, and even my dad loves her. Poseidon is missing out. But I doubt she would be awestruck if he finally deigns to show up. I'll remind you, you've never even seen her angry. I'll tell you, she is _livid_ at Poseidon, and he's going to feel it." Nico ranted.

"Maybe that's why Poseidon is hiding. I've seen her swordsmanship. I'm scared." Leo quipped. "Either way, you better kiss and make up. Festus is flying out tomorrow, and it sucks to fly with people sulking."

Percy slammed his forehead against the table. He didn't know. He hadn't asked more about her parents. They had talked a little more lately, but somehow, he always ended up speaking about himself. He needed to try harder. It was easier with Tyson. He was almost always happy. Hermione was a girl. And she was a complicated one of them, in his opinion. As he had said before – being a big brother sucked.

…

Nico found Hermione lying on the ground with her eyes closed, debris from the dummies scattered all around her. He went over to lie down beside her, but she didn't acknowledge him.

"I know how you feel."

"How could you possibly?" she whispered.

He sighed. "We all have some things we don't like to talk about, even with the ones we care about the most" He said carefully.

Hermione opened one eye to look at him.

"Is there something you don't like, but want to talk about?"

"I don't remember my childhood at all, you know. Bianca and I, just sort of woke up one day, at the Lotus hotel. We didn't know anything, only our names. It wasn't until Bianca died, I realized I was the son of Hades. I felt her passing. I discovered that I could control some ghosts, skeletons, zombies. I felt like, I didn't belong at Camp-Halfblood, so I started searching for the Underworld."

"But you did belong. You're a demigod."

"I think out of anyone, you know more about not feeling like you belong, even though you do" He said, smiling gently. "Anyways. I found the Underworld, obviously, but Hades was not happy to see me. He wouldn't tell me anything. He had preferred Bianca, because she was older. She would have fit the prophecy, but she died."

He sat up, trying to find words.

"Gods are different in many ways, Princess. But in other ways, they're exactly like normal people. They feel pain like we do. Not the physical pain, but the emotional pain. Maybe they feel it even more than normal people, and sometimes people react in strange ways, especially with loss. Gods are immortal, but they still fall in love with mortals. Sometimes, they have short flings, but other times, their feelings run very deep. Apollo is still affected by the pain of people he lost, centuries ago."

She looked at him intently, waiting for him to get to the point.

"My father didn't want tell me about my mother, he didn't even want to speak about her at all, until I blackmailed him, and even then, he only told me the bare minimum. I still kept searching for knowledge though. One day, I had been trying to contact my mother's spirit, but I was caught in a vision instead. I saw Hades pleading with my mother, begging her to come with him to the Underworld, to protect her from Zeus. My mother refused, and in the end, Zeus destroyed an entire hotel, just to kill us. Bianca and I survived, but our mother died, and our father was heartbroken. I've never seen him so furious. My point is, that Hades didn't want to tell me about my mother, because it hurt him. Gods are selfish creatures. If it hurts them, they won't do it. I don't know, what happened to your mom, but I figure there's a reason Poseidon is keeping his distance. You must look a lot like your mother, because you look nothing like Percy. It might painful for Poseidon to face you. He's still a jerk, for not showing up though. That's the least he could do."

Hermione frowned and huffed.

"So, he's a coward." She said, nodding. "We better get inside. We have some planning to do."

...

When they got inside, Hermione drenched in sweat from her impromptu training session, Percy stood up to apologize.

"Save it," she said, holding up her hand. "I'm sorry to overreact, but Poseidon is a bit of a sore topic for me. That, and I'm full of restless energy. Let's get planning!"

She sat down at the table.

"Er, right." Leo started. "Festus is pretty much ready, we just need to fine-tune some of the equipment. Don't want to end up in the wrong dimension." He sat, smiling like a maniac, looking every bit the crazy inventor that he was. Hermione had the impression, that he wouldn't be terribly sorry about making that mistake.

"And you're sure we have no other choice, but to fly on Happy, the Dragon?" She asked nervously.

Leo looked proud, that someone else had noted the name of his dragon. "You'll be perfectly fine, I promise you. Now, if you can cast those concealment charms, then we'll be even more safe. You'll love it!"

"Alright" She said, taking charge. "I propose, we stay at Ogygia for five days. In the meantime, you can try to get in contact with Apollo." She looked at Will, who nodded

"I can definitely try, but gods aren't always easy to reach."

Nico snorted "For you, though, Apollo will come through in a second, and you know it. Daddy's boy." He smirked

Will blushed. "That was _one_ _time_! I was sitting in my exam, and I prayed to my dad. Next thing I know, He right there behind the teacher! I almost failed!"

"Yeah, and after, he took us out for ice cream." Nico reminisced.

Will's boyfriend, Joseph, sat clenching his jaw. Hermione would guess, that he wasn't a great fan of his boyfriend getting along with his ex. She moved hers and Nico's clasped hands, to rest on top of the table, as a signal, that he had nothing to worry about. The guy just sneered at her, rolling his eyes.

"Either way," Hermione interrupted the guys "We need Apollo. If he can bring ice cream, all the better. Just save some for me" she winked at Will.

"I would like to train on both earthquakes and defensive magic, to see if out theory holds, that they will grow together. It's really an interesting study."

Annabeth sat, nodding at that.

"The rest of us need to keep up with our training and the patrols. The monsters around the borders are getting restless. We had two soldiers on patrol yesterday, who almost got eaten." Reyna said.

"I also have another request for you guys." She pointed at Will and Calypso. "That potions book I gave you, Calypso, has several large chapters about healing potions. I would like, if maybe, you could take a look at it with Will, to see if there's some of it you can use on demigods. Extra healing resources are going to be necessary in the near future, I'm afraid." She shrugged apologetically at Will who nodded, looking grim.

Joseph was still sneering at her. She did not like Joseph very much.

"Then let's get packing" Percy said.

 **Leave me a review. I promise it won't hurt :)**


	24. Chapter 24

_Nico watched, as a dress materialized on Hermione's bed. Hades gave her a small nod, and turned to the door. "Come, Nico. Let us give the girl some privacy." He led Nico out._

 _Outsider in the hall, Hades stopped Nico, when he tried to follow him. "I have to meet with Poseidon, but do show the girl the sights. I'm afraid it's far too rare, that people actually_ want _to be here. And after all, you were the one who… invited her." He said with an amused smirk, making Nico roll his eyes._

 _Nico didn't have to wait long, before the girl, Hermione came out, and again she blew his mind away. The dress was a simple chiton, but the deep red, somehow made her skin seem whiter, her eyes a deeper brown. It was cinched at the waist, with a golden, ruby encrusted belt. Who knew Hades had fashion sense?_

 _Her hair looked darker, from when he saw her the first time, but that was in daylight, and the sun didn't shine often in the Underworld. It felt like it, when she smiled though, and that thought terrified him. He would show her around, and then let her be on her way. He had already had a crush on her brother, and he wanted as big a distance from him as possible. Staying around this girl, would be mental and emotional suicide._

 _For now, though, he might as well enjoy it, while it lasted. She would be back in the mortal world by evening. Or, whatever time it was on the surface. Time moved differently in the Underworld. Sometimes he felt like it was like the Lotus Hotel, only in reverse. He could spend, what felt like hours in the Underworld, while in reality, it had been seconds on the surface. The mischievous part of his mind was looking very much forward to answering her inevitable question about how long she had been sleeping._

" _So! Where to first?" She asked, smiling brightly, making Nico question her sanity._

 _He pointed down the corridor, and started walking, her falling into step beside him._

" _I have to warn you a little first. I know you're curious, and obviously enthusiastic, but I just want to remind you, that this is the Underworld. People go here, when they die, and they stand before judgment. Sometimes judgment doesn't turn out in their favor. It can have some… explicit results." He said, carefully_

" _I imagine that. That doesn't make me any less curious though." She reflected._

" _Alright. Just don't say I didn't warn you."_

" _Can we start at the beginning? From the place the dead come through? Or do they just come through all over?" Her enthusiam was infectious. When you're a child of The Underworld, you sometimes take things for granted. He was generally a curious guy, himself, but in his own self-pity, he had forgotten to appreciate, that the living had absolutely no idea about, what lay ahead. To her, this was undiscovered knowledge, and she was bursting with appetite for leaning the secret._

" _Well, no. Generally, they have to go with Charon across the river, Styx" He answered, an involuntary smile stretching on his lips._

" _Of course! I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'm a little rusty in Greek mythology." She winced._

" _Don't worry." He chuckled "You'll catch up in no time, I'm sure"_

" _Can we start by seeing him?"_

" _Um sure."_

 _Nico wasn't sure at all. Shadow travel was generally much easier, and much less draining in the Underworld, and he was sure he would have to do it a lot. Only thing was, that he was scared to touch her again, out of fear of draining her._

 _He compromised, by grabbing her dress, praying to his father, it would be alright._

 _They arrived in the lobby of DOA Recording Studios, startling Charon, who suddenly stood straight._

" _Mr. Di Angelo! What a, um… pleasant surprise!" he gulped._

 _Nico sighed, exasperated. "Charon, how many times do I have to tell you to just call me Nico?"_

 _Charon's shoulders sagged a little as he relaxed._

" _Can't help it. You never know, maybe one day you will come with an inspection."_

 _That's when he saw Hermione standing next to Nico._

" _Well, who's the girl?" he asked him. "she almost died recently, but she survived. What's she doing here?"_

"She, _is standing_ right here _, you know" Hermione said, indignant._

" _Hermione Granger" she introduced herself, stretching out her hand._

" _You've got spunk. I like! I'm Charon" He said, smiling widely at her._

 _He took her hand, and staggered a little, his eyes widening._

" _That's… powerful" he said, in obvious surprise, dropping her hand._

 _Nico looked between the both of them, worried, that there might have happened a transference, but other than Charon looking a little winded, and staring at Hermione in awe, and Hermione staring curiously at her hand, nothing had happened._

" _Yes, very powerful," Nico agreed. "And also, very secret which you ought to remember. You never know. One day, I might come with an inspection." Nico looked Charon dead in the eye, until the ferryman nodded his head frantically_

" _Yes sir, of course sir."_

" _Now, we would like to get across, if you can fit us in the boat… Please." Nico said gently. He generally didn't like to intimidate people, but sometimes it was necessary. And being the son of Hades, tended to help get the point across._

 _Hermione looked at him disapprovingly, making him roll his eyes._

" _Of course, Mr. Di Angelo." The ferryman simpered, making Nico facepalm mentally._

 _Charon led them to the elevator, and Nico had to press himself against the wall, not to touch Hermione._

 _He loved to observe her, as creepy as that sounded. She was curious about everything. Even an elevator._

 _She gasped, when she noticed the elevator turning into a boat around her, and again, when she saw the spirits changing, wearing the grey robes, that signified all spirits as being equal in death._

 _For a while she stood, watching transfixed, as Charon changed form as well._

" _May I?" she asked, lifting her hand._

 _Charon looked at Nico with a nervous expression. Or, he would have, if skeletons could look nervous._

 _Nico gave an imperceptible nod, which Charon copied._

 _Hermione touched the zygomatic bone, that was now completely devoid of flesh._

" _Fascinating" she whispered. "Is the flesh a general illusion, or is it actually there in lobby, and you leave it there?_

" _Ew. That would be disgusting! Just a big pile of flesh, lying on the floor? It's the Mist, love. An illusion for the dearly departed, whose minds cannot process so much. Once they reach the Underworld, the illusion isn't really relevant anymore. A skeleton is nothing, compared to what's coming"_

" _But how do you speak then? The voice box is made from cartilage, ligaments and muscle."_

" _Er.. magic? Does she always ask this many questions?" the skeleton asked no one in particular, but Hermione's attention was already caught somewhere else._

 _They were about disembark, the boat sliding up on the black beach, when a three-chorus howl was heard in the near distance._

 _Hermione's eyes widened, and she got out of the boat and started walking_ towards _the terrifying noise._

 _He shook his head. This girl had a serious lack of self-preservation._

 _When they reached the gates, Nico grabbed her dress again, and shadow travelled them across the border._

 _They followed the well-worn path, up to where Cerberus was standing._

" _Oh! He's gorgeous!" Hermione gushed, when she saw the giant dog._

" _Does he like music?"_

" _Um.. I don't really know. I don't know if you've noticed, but the Underworld isn't exactly a place that makes people break out in song." Nico replied._

 _Hermione started approaching Cerberus, humming, what sounded like a lullaby._

 _Lack of self-preservation, indeed._

 _Cerberus sat down, looking at her, as if he was in a trance. The middle head started yawning, while the other two heads were nodding. Within a minute, Cerberus was lying down, fast asleep._

 _Nico looked at her, in complete disbelief. Eyes wide and mouth open._

 _Hermione walked over, and started stroking the left head. She looked back and noticed Nico standing, staring at her in awe._

" _Oh, I met a Cerberus before. Not as big of course, as this beautiful beast is the original. The Cerberus I met was called Fluffy. He was a real sweetheart."_

" _Who in Hades, names a Cerberus 'Fluffy'?" Nico asked, incredulous._

" _The gamekeeper at Hogwarts. He has a certain proclivity for monsters. He also had a dragon called Norberta, and a pet Acromantula." She smiled widely, turning her attention back to stroking Cerberus._

 _Nico looked at her in horror, wondering how this girl wasn't dead yet. It certainly sounded like she had plenty of opportunities._

" _We should move on" He interrupted her, and started walking along the path. Hermione stood to follow him, casting a final glance towards the sleeping Cerberus._

 _They followed the path into the large pavilion, where three figures sat, wearing black robes. Their golden masked shimmered away, when they approached the bench they were sitting at._

" _Well well, long time no see, Di Angelo" The man sitting to the right said, in a mocking tone, a tight smile on his lips._

" _Minnie!" Nico said amusedly. "How is it going, being stuck here?"_

" _I told you not to call me Minnie! It is undignified! I am a king!" The man growled._

" _Oh yes, right. You were! Hermione, allow me to introduce you. This, is Minos. The ex-king of Crete."_

 _Hermione must have caught on his dislike for the guy, or she just wasn't very fond of the man himself._

" _Right. You're the one Daedalus cheated, aren't you? Your daughter betrayed you and helped Theseus kill the Minotaur. Speaking of the Minotaur, is it true your wife had an affair with a bull?" She asked._

" _The insolence! You shall spend eternity in the Fields of Punishment for this!" The man barked._

" _I'm afraid you're going to have to save that. We're still living, you see." Nico told Minos with mock sympathy._

 _They walked through the pavilion, and at the edge, Nico said, "People have three choices now. The Fields of Punishment, The Fields of Asphodel and Elysium. I won't recommend seeing the Fields of Punishment. It isn't pretty, but if you concentrate, you can hear the screams from here."_

 _Hermione closed her eyes and scrunched her nose, trying to listen._

 _Nico shook his head "We can't go to Elysium. My father forbids me to go. Says I'm not allowed until I actually die and deserve it." He said with a wry smile_

" _That leaves fields of Asphodel" Hermione mumbled, mentally returning from the Fields of Punishment._

 _Nico nodded, leading the way._

" _You were amazing, with Minos. That really made my day. 'Is it true your wife had an affair with a bull?' Classic. I have to remember that" He chuckled, shoving his hands down his pockets._

 _Hermione wasn't smiling. "The legends say, that hundreds of young men and women died in his labyrinth. He was a horrible man." She said. "Honestly, it's no wonder his wife preferred a bull." She pointed out, sending both of them into hysterical laughter._

 _Nico led them out into the yellow fields, where spirits were drifting everywhere, in between black poplar trees._

" _What happens here?" Hermione asked him._

 _He sighed. "Nothing, really. People just spend eternity here. Slowly, they forget their life. Eventually they forget themselves, and who they were, and they fade."_

 _Hermione looked around, at the spirits, some of them had no faces, and they were all in different stages of transparency._

" _That's horrible" She whispered, tears in her eyes._

 _Then she noticed something in the distance, and pointed at it, making Nico turn his head._

 _A girl was sitting, leaning against a black poplar tree, but compared to the other spirits, this girl was almost solid._

 _Nico's brow wrinkled in confusion. He had an idea about, what was going on, but he would have to speak with his dad about it. That girl wasn't fading anytime soon._

 _Hermione was right. It really was horrible._


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25, ladies and gents. I'm currently working on improving some of the first chapters, I wasn't happy with. I'm sorry for any inconvenience this might cause.**

Harry and Draco went down the halls in awkward silence. Harry wondered several times, if he should start a conversation, but the selection of topics, that wouldn't start an argument was slim.

As they walked, several people just stopped and stared.

Harry hated it, and looking at Draco, he seemed rather uncomfortable as well, but he supposed it was for separate reasons.

The Malfoy name, didn't carry the same reverence it did before. Now the Malfoy name was dragged through the mud. Malfoy senior, was currently in Azkaban, still awaiting trial, Narcissa was on house arrest, and Draco had been pardoned. Harry had testified at all three cases. That hadn't been a popular decision, but Harry wasn't known to do, what was popular. He always just tried to do, what was right.

The Weasleys hadn't taken it well. Ron was especially grumpy about it, but Harry didn't know if that was because he was just against Malfoy, or because Hermione had helped, and testified as well.

Now his thoughts went back to Hermione again. Did he even know her at all? She had kept this Nico-guy secret, but what about Malfoy? Did she have a secret friendship with him too? He certainly respected her enough, but did she really not know, that Malfoy kept her secret? In the end, Harry decided it didn't matter. She had saved them, and honestly, she had probably saved the wizarding world more than he had. He was just the guy to point the wand. She was the master mind, and she didn't want any of the glory. He could never hate her, or resent her.

Malfoy had it hard these days, most people sneered and insulted him. A far cry from the admiration he was met with before.

Now, however, seeing them together, people seemed to be in too much of a shock to either crowd Harry with compliments, or spit insults at Draco.

'At least there's that' Harry thought.

When reaching the archives, they weren't even stopped at the door, because the guard was in a stupor.

"We should have brought you with us, when we broke into the ministry. It would have been a _lot_ easier, if people had reacted like that." Harry remarked.

"But the rest would have been a _lot_ more complicated." Draco said under his breath.

Harry looked at him from the corner of his eye. Maybe the guy really had changed. Maybe they all had. Or maybe, none of them had.

…

The archive was huge. It was almost as big as the Hall of Prophecies. Shelves upon shelves held books and scrolls. Harry even saw a big boulder with carved runes, standing in a corner.

Along the wall, a row of desks stood. By silent agreement they went and sat at one. Draco pulled out a piece of parchment.

"We need a strategy for this. There are too many variables as it is." He said.

"You're right. Do you think it could be a pureblood, who had an affair and tried to hide it?"

"Not likely. If a pureblood woman had a crazy powerful baby, with a god, no less, the entire world would know, trust me."

"But this would have been the height of the war. Voldemort might have seen the baby as a threat."

Draco flinched a little at the mention of the name that had been forbidden for a very long time.

"Still. Pureblood women are under a lot of surveillance. Not so much anymore, but the pureblood community has always been old fashioned, and especially back then, women were heavily guarded

"That's barbaric! You kept your women imprisoned? That's horrible!"

He laughed bitterly "Don't be naïve. It was better for them, than the alternative. As I said, pureblood society was old fashioned. Carrying on the name, keeping the blood pure. Everyone wanted boys. Problem was, that they were running out of pureblood girls. Sometimes, the parents would arrange a marriage contract, but it wasn't infrequent, that a pureblood supremacist father, would kidnap a girl for his son. She would then be raped, until she fell pregnant, producing an heir for the family, and making her unfit for another marriage. Bellatrix wasn't always crazy, you know. She lost that baby, and she lost her sanity along with it."

Harry had to fight hard not to vomit. He had thought it impossible to feel sympathy for Bellatrix Lestrange.

"That's horrible" He managed to choke out.

"Horrible for the man as well. As far as I understood, Rodolphus had actually loved Bellatrix, but he was forced by his father, himself."

"But they're not doing that, anymore, right?"

"We're fighting against it. Most of the fathers, that would force their sons, are in Azkaban now. Theo, for instance was saved by the bell. They found out his father had plans to kidnap Pansy. The Parkinsons had rejected a marriage contract, hoping to get an agreement in place with my father." Draco shuddered.

"But it's like, like they're selling cattle. No offence."

"None taken. Just, not anymore. The ones that would do it are in prison now, and some of the others and me, are putting together a suggestion to a law, banning all arranged marriages." He smiled proudly.

"Good for you, man! That's amazing."

"Thanks." Draco said, softly. "Anyway, back to topic. As stated before, it is highly unlikely, that it's from the darker side of the pureblood population. Most likely, we're looking at a witch, who was a member of the Order of the Phoenix or had a connection to them. They would be the most hunted ones. After that, we can begin to look at muggleborns."

Harry looked at Draco, slightly in awe.

"There's a large photo mounted on the wall of the Hall of Memories"

…

The Hall of Memories was a place, dedicated to the Wizarding War. It was stocked with photos, and items from both sides of the wars, stretching twenty years back.

Harry hated it there. For him, it felt too soon, but looking at this photo, always made it worth coming.

"I know that two women, in the Order of the Phoenix died, during the first war. Dorcas Meadowes-" He pointed at the photo.

"Too old" Draco interrupted.

"And Marlene… Mckinnon." Harry didn't even need to point. There was absolutely no doubt. Her hair was blonde, but other than that, it might as well have been Hermione on that photo. He didn't understand how he hadn't noticed before. He must have looked at that photo a hundred times, but had never seen it. Probably because he had been too distracted looking at all the people he had known personally and lost.

"We still need to confirm it. Is there anyone alive, who knew her back then?"

Harry sighed. "I don't know. Maybe the Weasleys. Molly probably."

Draco nodded with a wry smile "I should probably let you handle that then. Is there any paperwork, from the adoption, I can take a look at?"

"I doubt it. Not without an actual criminal investigation, and giving the muggle police a proper cause."

Draco sat, thinking a little on that.

"Didn't you just have a manhunt, with Hermione Grangers face plastered all over the muggle news?"

"Yeah, why?" Harry asked confusedly.

"Did you remember to cancel that with the muggle police?" He smirked.

Suddenly, Harry could appreciate the cunning of a Slytherin.


	26. Chapter 26

They spent the rest of the evening packing. That is, Leo, Nico and Percy were packing. Hermione was lounging about in the living room, trying to think up a training strategy.

"Hermione?" Hazel interrupted her thoughts.

"Hazel" Hermione smiled "Come sit down."

Hazel plopped down in an armchair next to Hermione.

"Gods, these are really too comfortable. I'll never be able to get up from here" Hazel laughed.

"I know. It reminds me of my old school." Hermione lit the fireplace wandlessly, enjoying the ambience of the firelight.

"Don't let Leo see you do that. He likes to feel special."

"But he is special." Hermione hummed. "All of you are."

"We try." Hazel smiled, and they fell into a comfortable silence, enjoying the sound from the fire crackling.

"Why didn't he tell us about you? Tell me?" Hazel whispered.

"Because he was told not to. He hated it. Especially keeping it from you. Back then, he really worried, that maybe you would think he didn't care about you, as much as he did Bianca. Keeping that secret from you was really killing him, but he swore on it with his father. It was very important. They were afraid of the exact situation we are in now. Except, we wouldn't have been able to do anything about it back then. Besides, it was for the protection of every one."

"I know. I just wish I had met you sooner." "Me too. I saw you once though. In the Underworld. I'm happy Nico found a way to get you out"

"Me too. Obviously. Ugh. I need to go, I have patrol soon." Hazel smiled apologetically.

"No worries. I should get up too. I want a cup of tea before bed."

…

Hermione puttered around in the kitchen, thinking about the upcoming trials. Especially how to make Zeus mortal. That would be no easy feat. They would definitely need Apollo, and she would need all her power, and then some.

"You'll fail" A voice sneered at her.

She turned around, to look at Joseph with a lifted eyebrow "Excuse me?"

"You will fail, and you will destroy us all." He hissed. "It would be so much better, just to turn you over. There are people looking for you, you know."

"Yes, I do know. I saw the flyer."

"Oh, not those people. I'm talking about something else." He smirked menacingly "There are people, willing to pay a lot of gold for your little British tush."

"What do you mean?" She wrinkled her brow in confusion.

He bent down, uncomfortably close, and whispered "Does 'Mudblood' mean something to you?"

Hermione was hit with nausea, and she was sure, that if there were anyone else, in the living room, they would have seen her going pale as a ghost.

That was the one threat, she hadn't expected at Camp Jupiter.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you" she said much calmer and confident, than she felt. She used all her stealth to press the button on the intercom, on the side of the counter, without him noticing.

"What, you think you can threaten me? You're going down." He growled.

"And what makes you think that?"

"I'm the son of Mercury. You think I don't have contact with my dad? I've kept him informed, and he's loyal to Zeus. He knows all of your plans, by now."

"And the other thing?"

He chuckled darkly, grabbing her arms and twisting them around her back. It hurt, but she needed more information, so she didn't struggle too hard. "Oh, my little Hermione. I might be a demigod, but I have some other heritage on my mother's side. My uncle would be very interested in getting his claws in you."

"But you're not magical. You don't carry the blessing of Hecate. I can feel it." He slammed her head down, into the kitchen counter, making her head swim.

"No" He sneered. "My mother is what you would call a squib. So, she searched somewhere else, for me to gain power. But can you imagine the rewards I will have, when I've given Zeus both information on the betrayal coming from the half-bloods, and that I even have the threat eliminated? Combined with the Gold, the Death Eaters are going to pay me for the Gryffindor Princess? They are all looking forward to see you burning, I'm sure."

"Just out of curiosity, Joseph, what is your last name?"

"Oh, I believe you are familiar with it. My name is Avery. Joseph Avery, that's me." He said, a creepy smile stretching on his lips. "And you and I, are going to take a little walk."

He started guiding her towards the exit, but it was blocked by a furious Leo, fireballs in his hands.

"Over my dead body."

Joseph grabbed a fistful of Hermione's hair, and drew a knife from his pocket, holding it up to her throat.

"Move aside. You'll hit her, if you try. And even if you don't, I'll cut her throat."

Leo stood, wide eyed, close to panic.

"Gods, this is ridiculous. I have to stop ending up at knifepoint. It happens way too frequently" Hermione quipped.

The guy was sloppy. He was cocky, and easy to take down. Hermione stomped down hard on his foot, grabbed the wrist that held the knife, flipping the guy over her shoulder, slamming him down to the floor. She knocked his hand against the floor a couple of time, making him drop the knife. She finished with a wandless sticking charm to tie his hands together and stick them to the floor.

When she was done, she looked up, to see a wide-eyed Leo, and coming up behind him was Will.

Will was barely keeping it together. He stood near the door, shaking, his mouth pressed into a hard line and his eyes glistening with tears. The look of betrayal clearly written all over his face.

"Get him out of here" He seethed.

"Already on my way" Leo assured him.

Hermione transfigured a pair of handcuffs from a spatula, and gave them to Leo to put on Joseph, before she would release him.

"I'm taking him to Reyna"

"Alright, just, I might need to, uh, interrogate him about the wizarding connection." She stammered, glancing every five seconds at Will, who still stood in the doorway looking lost.

When Leo and Joseph left, so did Will's composure. He started sobbing, covering his mouth with one hand, tears spilling down his cheeks.

Hermione slowly went over, putting a trembling hand on his shoulder.

"I am so, so sorry, Will. I never wanted to-"

"Don't you dare." Will interrupted harshly, pushing her hand off his shoulder. She started to cry herself then.

"Don't you _dare_ , for even a second assume, that this was your fault." He pulled her into a hard embrace. "This situation is messed up, and he made his own stupid choices. I'm just angry with myself, I didn't see it sooner. I'm – was his boyfriend after all. I should have known."

"Oh, Will. If I can't blame myself, then neither can you. If you do, I will too. Understood?"

"Okay. Yeah." He sniffled, releasing her.

"Now, I'm going to make a nice cup of tea, because I'm British, and we are going to sit here and relax. After that, we'll find you a place to sleep. I'm not sending you home like this. Understood?"

He chuckled wetly "Yes Ma'am" and gave a small salute.

…

It wasn't until she had made sure Will was sleeping, that she returned to her own room, where Nico waited, bags packed. She supposed Leo had come to fill him in, because he only spread his arms, for her to walk in to for comfort. That's where she had her own breakdown. She was impressed with herself, that she had managed to keep it together for so long for Will.

When Joseph had held her at knifepoint, she had flashback to the insane cackling and rancid breath of Bellatrix Lestrange. She had felt the cold metal of the knife, digging into the sensitive flesh of her neck. She spent the rest of the night sobbing, crying herself to sleep in Nico's arms, while he was whispering in her ear and stroking her hair.

…

The next morning, Nico was forbidden to see Joseph. Reyna had made an executive decision, that Nico surprisingly agreed to. They both remembered, what happened to Bryce Lawrence during the war with Gaia, and Nico wasn't sure he could keep calm. Especially, when Hermione insisted on going in alone to interrogate him. He was pacing outside the cell, when she came out, wearing a troubled expression.

"I need to contact Harry, but it can still wait till we get back. We really need to get training, and preferably yesterday."

"Good. Leo has Festus ready to go, and Percy is jumping up and down. I think he's excited to see what you're capable of. Me too, if I'm honest" He said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh, come on, you've seen some of it."

"Yeah, but nowhere near your full potential."

"And thank the gods for that!" She laughed

…

On the way to see the dragon, Will stopped them. Nico nodded at him, walking ahead, letting the two new found friends have a moment.

"Thank you, for last night, Hermione. I really appreciated it. I was a mess. I still am, but I'm managing."

"You are such a genuinely good person, Will. I cannot express how thankful I am, that you took care of Nico. I feared so much for him, but I can see he was in good hands" She gave him a sly smirk, and made Will blush. "But I also get the feeling, that, while you are a very caring person, you don't let people care for you so often. Just let them." She said softly, turning around to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He nodded, smiling a little sheepishly, and they went up to the lawn, where they were supposed to meet the others.

…

The others had told her about Festus, Leo especially, had made sure she knew _everything possible_ about it, but whatever they had told her, could never have prepared her for seeing the dragon in person. Sixty feet of bronze plates, with glowing red eyes, and huge wings.

Hermione's jaw dropped.

So did her stomach.

"I am _not_ going on that thing." She tried arguing.

"Yes, you are."

"No. Absolutely not."

Nico's only response to that, was to grab her, and throw her over his shoulder, carrying her there, and plopping her down on one of the seats, giving her a smug smile.

"Yes. You _are_ "

He climbed up behind her. Percy sat in front of her, and Leo sat up front, steering.

Hermione hated flying. With the first lurch of Festus' wings, she felt like vomiting. With the second she almost did. Then Nico wound his arms around her, rubbing her belly with his hands, making her settle a little. An hour into the flight, she had fallen asleep, exhausted from all the nerves. She didn't wake up, until Percy made a gasp. In the horizon, the outline of an island could be seen.

"Woohoo! Welcome to Ogygia my friends!" Leo yelled over his shoulder.

 **I felt bad for Will, as I was writing this. But there's a purpose, I promise.**

 **Please review. It's been a while since I've had any.**


	27. Chapter 27

_Hades was having a bad day. Scratch that. He was having a bad week. No, month. Year?_

 _No, Hades was having a bad life, and it was eternal, which sucked. He did have some highlights though. Persephone, for instance, and his kids. Other than that, things were not going great for him._

 _Thanatos was MIA, and the other gods were naturally blaming him. Yes, the guy was his lieutenant, but he couldn't be expected to track his every movement. Thanatos was a full-grown god in his own right. Besides, there was plenty to do in the Underworld, thank you very much._

 _He had sent out all the search parties he could. Except Nico. He tried to send the boy out on missions of his own, for him to feel needed and important, but always relatively safe ones. He knew he wasn't the best father in the world, but at least, he tried now._

 _Nico was precious to him, but he had neglected and hurt his son on numerous occasions. He had even told him, that Bianca was preferable, but that was only because she was older._

 _Hades just wasn't good with people. There was a reason he had been made god of the Underworld. For exactly that reason, he sympathized with his son._

 _He had realized they were a lot alike, but exactly how much, he hadn't known, until Nico had run into his throne room, panicking, carrying a half-dead girl, he had apparently kidnapped from the mortal world._

 _His son put his little treasure down on a sofa, with as much care as the boy could muster, which wasn't easy, considering the boy's own stature, or lack thereof. He really needed to discuss the value of nutrients with the kid._

 _Now, Nico was standing, trying to explain the situation, but Hades could only catch bits and pieces, like "Poseidon" "power" and "dying". It seemed like his son had forgotten how to speak properly, all his words coming out in a rapid mix of English and Italian, with a hint of Greek and ancient Aramaic. When including his violent hand gestures, one might consider an exorcism was in order._

 _The girl was starting to wake, and she tried to sit up, but collapsed again. She started to fade, fast, and they had to act, if they didn't want her to be a permanent visitor to the Underworld._

 _He was happy, that he had always insisted, that Nico carry a load of ambrosia and nectar with him, whenever he went on missions. They would need it. Nico's hands were shaking, when he put the ambrosia into the girl's mouth. She started gaining color, and he knew she would need plenty of rest. It takes a lot out of you, returning from the brink of death. He waved his hand, expelling the girl to a room in the guest wing, simultaneously transfiguring her clothes into something more comfortable._

 _Nico might just be the most powerful of all his children. In a way, he was happy about that. It could have been worse. He tried to imagine little Adolph with unlimited riches or the ability to summon the dead. It wasn't pretty._

 _Nico at least, had a conscience. Seeing his breakdown after almost draining a girl's life force definitely proved that, more than saving the world already had. He needed to speak to him about his newfound ability, but right now, he needed a serious talk, with his little brother._

 _Idiot Poseidon, just couldn't help himself around a pretty girl. Jackson was an insufferable little shit, and to know, that Poseidon had one more kid running around, was disturbing at best._

 _It was a delicate matter though. Even if Poseidon was an idiot, Zeus was ruthless, and he didn't feel like seeing more kids dying because of Zeus' need of control. He still felt the pain of losing Maria, brought on by Zeus' fury._

 _Typical middle child. So, volatile._

 _He had the keep the girl a secret, of that he was sure, so he sent one of his trusted with a message, instead of using Hermes. One never knew._

…

 _It was four days in the Underworld, until the girl woke up. Gods, he needed Persephone for this. The girl was very sweet, and kind. She was definitely fearless, and he had to respect that. Obviously, she had no idea of her parentage. Persephone would know, what to do and what to say. But unfortunately, it was summer. He missed her. His son did a surprisingly adequate job of springing the news on her, even if she was disbelieving at first. Nothing seemed to faze her, not even being in the Underworld, it was admirable and charming. As unfortunate as it was, that she was the spawn of Poseidon, she could be good for his son. She wouldn't let him hide away. So, he did the natural thing, and forced him to stay in her company._

…

 _When Poseidon swaggered into the throne room, flip-flops, Hawaii-shirt and cocky smirk in place. He jumped up the small steps, and threw himself onto Persephone's golden throne. Hades was just about ready to throttle him._

" _Before we start this," he seethed "You should know, that this room is completely sealed off. No one can hear, what we speak of, and I think you will agree with me, once you learn of the situation."_

 _Poseidon looked at him, his face of pure confusion._

" _Does the name 'Hermione' ring a bell to you? Or did she have another name, that wasn't Greek,_ before _she was dropped at an orphanage?" Hades sat, drumming his fingers impatiently against the armrest of his throne._

 _He could see he had hit a nerve, when Poseidon's face fell, as he said the girl's name._

" _Hermione? Must you torment me?" He whispered harshly._

" _Well, she's here."_

" _Don't you think I know that?!" Poseidon thundered._

 _Now it was Hades' turn to be confused._

" _Um. You know she's here?"_

" _Yes! Of course, she is! But why would you bring this up, when she's been here for so many years? Do you really enjoy seeing me in pain? To use the innocent spirit of a baby for my torment?"_

 _Hades stared at him, bewildered. "Poseidon, she's only been here four days. Underworld time."_

" _That's impossible. Everything burned. I was too late." Poseidon started sobbing._

" _No, I promise on the River Styx, I'm telling the truth. My son brought her down here. She was almost drained of life force, but now, she is very much alive. In fact, Nico is showing her around at the moment." Hades tried to soothe his little brother. He didn't feel the need to tell him who had drained her._

" _And Marly?" He hiccupped_

" _I'm sorry, but I don't know. From what I can tell, the girl is adopted. She knew nothing of being a demigod until Nico found her."_

" _What does she look like?" Poseidon whispered, confusing Hades._

" _Nothing like you. She has brown eyes, and is small of stature. She has brown hair that is insane. Persephone would be horrified by the state of it"_

" _She looks like Marly?"_

" _I would assume so, but you can see for yourself. They should be back at the palace soon."_

" _NO!" Poseidon exclaimed, wide-eyed. "I can't. It would be too hard."_

 _Hades rolled his eyes at that. "You think I don't know that? Do you think it was easy sitting next to Zeus the solstice after he killed Maria? Did he kill your 'Marly' too?"_

" _No. Someone else did that." Poseidon growled. "Either way, I can't see her. It would be too dangerous, to lead Zeus directly to her"_

" _Then what do you suggest?"_

 _Poseidon ran a hand through his hair._

" _She will need training, but she will need to be kept secret. She can't go to Camp Half-blood."_

" _Then, what do you suggest, brother dear?"_

" _Nico, your son, can he train her?"_

" _What of your own son? Her_ brother _?"_

 _Poseidon smiled exasperatedly and sighed_

" _While Percy is a great young man, and has made me exceptionally proud, I'm afraid, that discretion isn't a virtue he possesses"_

 _Hades snorted_

" _Your son, Nico, on the other hand, is an expert."_

 _Hades preened a little at the compliment._

" _That he is. But it will be no easy feat. Your daughter is powerful. What in the world possessed you to consort with one of Hecate's blessed?" he huffed._

 _Poseidon smiled softly, remembering exactly, what had him possessed._

" _Marlene was… I can't even describe her. You saw Hermione, you say? That kind of wild hair is uncontrollable. Just as its owner. She was beautiful and ferocious. I saw her fighting once. The enemies didn't know what hit them. Neither did I apparently" He chuckled wetly and sniffled._

" _Another thing." Hades said carefully. "She can cause earthquakes."_

 _Poseidon looked at him in horror._

" _Out of all powers I have. Why couldn't she just talk to horses?" Poseidon looked ready to throw himself off a cliff._

" _I don't have to explain to you, the implications, I see."_

" _She will need incredible self-control." Poseidon said, worriedly._

" _So far, nothing has fazed her. We are in the Underworld, she almost died, was told she was adopted, which her parents hadn't told her, she was told she was a demigod. In return, she asked for a guided tour. I think she's going to be alright for now. I'm worried though, because she is only going to get stronger, especially with Hecate's magic."_

 _Poseidon snorted softly "Sounds like Marly"_

" _My suggestion would be, to have Nico train her to fight, but to keep the earthquakes down. Let her learn to control them, but not to cause them. I have a feeling, that she will be important in the future, but until then, it's important, that she doesn't draw attention to herself. I can send her out on missions with Nico, to help with the training."_

 _Poseidon nodded, absently agreeing._

" _Poseidon, are you sure, you do not wish to see her?" Hades softly asked his little brother._

" _I'm sorry. I can't." Poseidon said, pitifully._

 _The god of the sea, stood up and walked out of the throne room, the sound of his flip-flops, no longer so cheerful._

 **Please leave me a review. Tell me what you think :)**


	28. Chapter 28

Draco Malfoy was terrified. He was really starting to regret volunteering to go on this mission. Hell, he hadn't even volunteered, the whole thing was his own idea.

When he left the wizarding world, he was freaking out. When the first truck passed him, he was ready to shit in his pants.

He had never been this far out of his comfort-zone, and he had become a Death Eater at sixteen. He tried not to reflect on, what that said about his childhood.

He had spoken briefly with Dean Thomas about what to expect from the muggle world, talking about it was one thing. Experiencing was something completely else. He was determined however, to show he could be trusted, and he wasn't biased against muggles.

When he had walked into Thomas's office, the guy had looked scared. When he told him about his intentions to go into the muggle world, he had stared at Draco as if he was insane.

Draco was starting to agree with him.

He hadn't known, what to expect from the orphanage, but this wasn't it.

He had seen pictures of Tom Riddle's first home, but this modern house with cheerful colors and a large garden littered with toys was far from the expectation he had of a dilapidated building from the 40's

This felt more like a home, than an institution, so he felt an obligation to knock politely on the door, rather than just walking in.

Opening the door, was a 6-year-old girl, with white blonde hair and two missing front teeth.

Dammit. He knew it was an orphanage, but he hadn't expected having to actually _interact_ with children.

"Um- Hello?" He stammered out.

"Who're you?" she asked him, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

"I'm Draco Malfoy" He tried speaking gently. He had no idea, how to speak to a child. "Is there an adult somewhere…?" He trailed off.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Rose is in the kitchen, and Maeve is in the living room with the smaller kids."

"Can you lead me to them?"

"Maeve is probably busy, but you can come with me, I guess."

Draco went inside, and politely wiped his shoes on the mat. Two older boys, came running past them, one chasing the other with a foam sword. Draco couldn't help the small smile that crept onto his face.

The kitchen was very large, and in it, was a young woman, around her thirties. She turned around to look at the newcomers, with only a slight look of surprise.

"Hello. Is there something I can help you with? Visiting days are Tuesdays and Thursdays."

"Yes, I'm not here to visit, I'm afraid. Is there somewhere we can talk privately?" Draco glanced down at the girl.

"Ivy, could you please do me a favour, and tell Michael to come and take over for me in the kitchen?"

The girl looked up at Draco, narrowing her eyes as if to say "You be careful mister, you're in enemy territory"

He hadn't imagined one could be intimidated by a 6-year-old, but he stood, paralyzed, until the girl had skipped her way down the hall.

Rose led him in the other direction and up a staircase, into a small office, stocked with filing cabinets.

"Now, can I ask, what this is about?" She said, closing the door behind her.

"Yes. I don't know if you've seen the news, about a missing young woman, Hermione Granger?"

"Of course, I have, how could I not? It's all over the news on the telly, and the streets are littered with posters and flyers."

"Um, right. The thing is, that Hermione was adopted as a baby, and we have reason to believe, that her abduction has something to do with her, um – birth parents. Before her adoption, she was in this orphanage, but her file says nothing of her origins. I was wondering if you could tell me?"

She looked hesitant.

"I'm afraid, I can't tell you much without a warrant." She said carefully.

"Oh! Right, I have it right here." He fumbled, getting the piece of paper out of his pocket, praying to whatever deity was out there, that Kingsley had done a good job.

"Alright. That… Should be in order." She put the warrant in a desk drawer, and Draco let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"We were actually talking about that case, the other night. Maeve is the one you should speak to though. She was the one who received her. But it will have to wait. We have many mouths that are hungry. It's dinner time, and at the moment it's only Maeve and me. I can only imagine the chaos if I were to sit alone with all the kids."

"Oh. Are they bad behaved?"

"Oh no. I'm just a really bad influence. You're welcome to join us though."

…

The table was huge enough for twenty people. At the moment, fifteen children were sitting around it, all in varying ages, the oldest, looking to be around seventeen. This served as a reminder to Draco, of how young he actually was himself. He still felt mentally closer to forty, and he was sure he looked older than he was as well, or else Rose would have never accepted that warrant from him. He wondered if they would ever be able to go back to school and be normal kids, when Hogwarts was rebuilt. He highly doubted that.

The mood at the table was cheerful and raucous. Only, when Maeve stepped through the door, did the kids calm down a little. Not out of fear, but out of respect. Maeve herself looked to be a little over fifty, with greying hair, and a caring, but stern demeanour. If she thought there was something odd about seeing another person at the table, she didn't let on.

They were having vegetable lasagne. A boy slammed his fork down on the table and crossed his arms.

"I'm not eating that! Veggies are disgusting!"

"Maybe. But not as disgusting as the scurvy you're going to have from lack of vitamin C" Rose said, with a scary smile, that made both Draco and the boy eat with gusto.

As a general, the children were speaking, laughing and enjoying their dinner. All except Ivy, who was sitting across from Draco, glaring at him, chewing aggressively.

After dinner, she grabbed his arm

"You're not supposed to be here!" She hissed at him.

Draco narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

"You're different, I can feel it, and you need to leave."

Draco looked at the girl confusedly, but then he felt the slightest disturbance in his own powers, like something small was trying to push him away. A little witch. His frown turned into a grin, and he knelt down next to her

"Technically, by that definition, you're not supposed to be here either, then. You're like me." He told her in a low voice.

The girl's eyes widened.

"Yes." She whispered. "But I like it here. Rose and Maeve are nice. No one else want to adopt me because I'm strange."

"Oh no. You're not strange, you, are _perfect_. Never let anyone tell you otherwise." He smiled softly at her. "Now, unfortunately, I have to go talk with Maeve, but I promise you I'll come to visit you. It would seem we have something to talk about. Tuesdays and Thursdays, right?"

She hesitated. "You promise?"

" _Promise_ "

He stood up, and Ivy went and hugged his legs, making him grin.

She ran out, and Draco went upstairs in search of Maeve. He found her in the same office, he had spoken to Rose in.

"I was wondering, when someone would come knocking. Rose said you were looking for Hermione?"

"Yes, we are. We have reason to suspect, it has something to do about her birth parents."

"I always thought it was a little suspicious, the way she arrived here, but I couldn't do much, other than take her in."

"How was it suspicious?"

"Well, most of the children arriving here, are brought by the authorities in some form or other. The police of social services for instance, but one night there was a knock on the door. It was very late, and outside, was a man, holding a baby, not more than four months old."

"Is it possible for you to describe him for me?"

He was thankful for his godfather's extra lessons in legilimency and occlumency, which allowed him to sneak into the woman's mind, almost undetected. He supposed it was a little unorthodox, doing it without permission, but it got the job done.

"He didn't seem like the type to have a child. I remember thinking that. He was wearing a leather jacket, and he had long black hair, and he had an earring as well. The only thing he said was 'Take care of her. Her name is Hermione.' And then he pushed her into my arms. She was the most adorable little thing."

The memory was a little hazy, which was only to be expected, considering how long ago the scene happened. It felt fuzzy, and out of focus, but when he saw the man, he had no doubt about the man's identity.

He didn't know what to make of that.

…

Harry was on his way to have dinner at the Burrow. It was usually a place to relax, and unwind, but now, he was too preoccupied. At least Ginny would be there. She could always make him feel better.

Entering the kitchen of the Burrow, he felt the familiar warmth of the Weasley home, but it was now tainted by melancholy. Molly still hadn't taken Fred's image off the clock. It would feel wrong to do so.

"Hello stranger" A gentle voice murmured into the back of his t-shirt, pale, freckled, delicate arms snaked around him from behind, and a grin broke out on his face.

"Ginny" He turned clumsily around in her embrace. Her arms weren't that long, but she was stubborn enough, not to let go.

She was beautiful. The most amazing girl in the world, and she loved him. Not the Chosen One or The Boy Who Lived, Just Harry. He leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss, ignoring George and Ron, who were making gagging noises in the background.

They pulled away, both looking dazed.

"Right, right, that's enough" Ron interrupted, moving in between his little sister and his best friends, making Harry laugh.

It was nice, feeling so light hearted. It was a shame it didn't happen more often these days.

…

After an amazing dinner (Thank you Mrs. Weasley) He went to help the Weasley matriarch in the kitchen.

"Thanks for dinner Mrs. Weasley. It was delicious." He smiled at her.

She tsk'ed, exasperatedly "Oh, Harry, enough of that nonsense. I've told you to call me Molly for three years now."

"Molly, then. Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, my boy, you can ask me anything" He was sure, that if he hadn't been standing too far out of her reach, she would have pinched his cheeks.

"It's just, that I'm working on a case right now, and it's involving Marlene McKinnon. I was wondering if you knew her at all?"

"Oh, of course I did." She said, her smile turning a bit stiff.

"Oh. Could you tell me about her? I mean, I knew she was friends with my parents."

Her eyes immediately softened.

"Yes, she was, wasn't she? They were in the Order together. They became a rather tight little group. Your parents, Frank and Alice, Remus, Sirius and Marlene. Peter as well of course, even if we prefer to forget him." She sighed. "Marlene was a very sociable young girl. She was a pureblood, from a good family. Not blood purists, but still, of good standing. For this reason, no one really wanted to speak of her situation."

"What _situation?_ "

"For the longest time, I thought she and Sirius would be together. They were best friends, and so very close. But then one day, she turns up, out of the blue, and announces her pregnancy. She wasn't getting married. That simply wasn't done in pureblood society. She didn't care about that though. She always just did what she wanted. I think that's why she got along so great with Sirius. She wouldn't even tell us who the father was. I always thought that was suspicious. I believe she told Sirius though. He would have never given up until she told him."

"What happened then?"

Mrs. Weasley started crying "She had the most adorable little baby girl. Born with a whole head of brown curly hair. She was just the sweetest thing. But it wasn't to last. Only a little more than four months after her birth, their house was attacked by Death Eaters. The house was burned to the ground with Fiendfyre. There was nothing left to bury but dust"

Mrs. Weasley was openly sobbing now, and Harry went to embrace her.

"Sirius was so devastated. I really believe, that given time, they would have gotten together. Sirius definitely loved them both enough."

"Did you know the name of the baby?"

"No, no one did, just Marlene and Sirius I think. They always just called her 'Princess'" She chuckled wetly.

Harry smiled uneasily.

"Sirius loved you, no doubt about that, but she was the apple of his eye. And he really did treat her like a princess. Now, let's make some tea, yes? Can you find the cookies for me dear?"

Harry's mind was a great big hurricane, blowing him this way and that. He really didn't know how to process all these secrets that were suddenly coming to light.

 **Truly, thank you very much for your kind reviews. It's what keeps people writing :)**


	29. Chapter 29

"PERCY!" Hermione screamed, as Percy was swallowed by the huge wave.

They were on day number four, out of their five-day training period. So far, she had only managed to make minor earthquakes. It was hard, to let something loose, that she had kept a lid on, for years

The training was grueling, but there was little, Nico could do to help, other than take care of her, and stop her from over taxing herself. He knew first hand, how dangerous that could be.

She was getting better at it. This time though, she had almost lost complete control, which was dangerous.

She had made an earthquake, so large it cracked the earth, and created a tsunami. Her worst-case scenario had come true as well. The tsunami had rebounded on the magical barrier, to turn around and hit them in their faces.

Percy was trying to do, what he was supposed to do. He had stood on the beach, trying to push back the wave, but instead it had slammed into him. Normal people would not have been able to survive that, but Nico knew, that Percy was not, what you would call normal.

Sure enough, the wave was slowing down, and Percy emerged, standing on it, laughing and screaming like a maniac.

"WOOOHOOO! That was _awesome_!"

Hermione sat staring at him in complete disbelief. She looked tired, but not completely drained of energy, which was promising. That meant, that her magic was building to be able to sustain her.

Every time she created earthquakes and spent her energy, her magic from Hecate was building, to compensate.

Soon she should have enough reserve to be able to hold down Zeus long enough, for Apollo to remove his immortality. It would be taxing and extremely dangerous. Nico hated it, but he knew she was the only one, who could do it. Besides, he had his own little side project going on.

"PERSEUS JACKSON!" Hermione screamed, returning from her stupor. "You _scared_ me!" She yelled, wandless and wordlessly sending two dozen of yellow canaries to attack Percy, who screamed and tried to outrun them.

Leo was coming up behind them, laughing uncontrollably, as he saw Percy running back and forth across the beach, in a flurry of yellow wings.

Eventually Hermione took pity on her brother, vanishing the birds with a wave of her hand.

Percy started to walk towards them, a grumpy expression on his face.

"Looking good, Milkshake" Leo said, finally getting himself under a bit of control. He lost it again though, when Percy reached them, covered in bright yellow feathers.

"Was that really necessary?" He ground out.

"Probably not, but it made me feel better." Nico smirked, high-fiving Leo.

"If anyone's interested, I have dinner ready." Leo chuckled. They moved further into the island, where they had set up tents. It was too dangerous to be near anything else.

On the second day, the cave had collapsed, much to Leo's consternation. Luckily, he had managed to rescue some things.

When they reached the meadow, where they had made camp, a lot of their things had fallen to the ground, due to the earthquake At least their tacos were intact. So much for small favors.

"I think we might be ready to go back soon. How's it coming with the plants?" Nico asked, as they sat down on blankets around the campfire, Leo had built.

"I'm almost done. I had a couple of setbacks, but I think it's going okay. I just need to rig them for transportation." Leo responded, glancing at Nico.

Nico had tried to help the day before, accidentally killing a lot of rare plants. Leo was still a little sore about it.

The tacos were brilliant, in the way, that only Leo could make them. After their dinner, Hermione had dug out a bag of marshmallows, which they were sitting, toasting around the fire. Percy was busy, trying to figure out, exactly how many marshmallows he could cram onto his stick, Hermione was sitting between Nico's legs, leaning back on his chest, and Leo was sitting cross-legged, drumming his fingers on his knee.

"A calypso rhythm, Leo. Really?" Nico smirked at him.

"It's a great beat!" Leo defended, throwing a marshmallow at him, accidentally hitting Hermione in the face.

Leo's eyes widened, and he ducked his head, expecting his own flock of canaries to hit at any moment. Hermione laughed out loud, and instead threw a marshmallow right back at him. In a matter of seconds, they were having a marshmallow war, except for Percy, who victoriously waved his stick with five whole marshmallows in the air.

"New record!"

Hermione fell to the ground, with a happy sigh. She had new friends, a boyfriend, and a silly, stupid brother. Even if they had only known each other a few weeks, she felt close to him, and they had the same teasing relationship, a brother and sister were supposed to have.

She had the same with Harry, except that she was always the one protecting Harry. Percy was protecting her. It seemed he had finally embraced the idea of having a baby sister, and she enjoyed it fully.

Even if he was an idiot.

…

Will was in agony. He wasn't normally so dramatic, but Joseph's betrayal had hit him harder than he had wanted to admit.

He wanted to say, that it didn't matter, that he didn't care. But it did matter, and he did care.

More than anything though, he blamed himself. He was supposed to be smart, he was supposed to be able to see things like that. Now he just felt stupid.

He hated to generalize because of heritage, but he supposed he shouldn't have been surprised.

Son of Mercury – The god of trickery.

Annabeth had tried to make him feel better. They talked about what happened with Luke, years back. That betrayal still hurt, even though he came through in the end.

He wondered if this would still hurt for years to come.

Granted, Joseph and him, hadn't been that close, when he thought about it. They had been together for almost a year, had just moved into a little flat, near the Valetudinarium. He was grateful to be able to stay in the House. He didn't think he would be able to return.

Had it been Nico, who had betrayed them, he was sure it would hurt more. Even though they were no longer together, Nico was still his best friend, and he still trusted Nico with his life. More than that, he trusted Nico with the world.

Which was why he was standing, in the meadow near the Temple Hill, trying to put on a brave face, for when his father would show.

Which was now.

For once, the sun chariot was actually in the shape of a chariot, horses and all. It was shining so brightly, that Will had to cover his eyes. It landed on the ground, and the sun god himself stepped out.

After his trials, and return to god-hood, Apollo had become slightly more mature. Just slightly.

He got his appearance back, which had been a joy to everyone. No more Lester. Back to golden hair and eight-pack abs. Apollo had been ready to cry.

Today he was wearing simple flip-flops, shorts, a black tank top, and a pair of Ray Ban shades.

"Hey Kiddo."

His bright winning smile, turned in to a concerned frown, when he saw Will's red eyes and trembling fake smile. He walked over fast, drawing his son into an embrace. Will instantly felt warmer, and a little better, but then Apollo asked;

"What happened?" And Will broke down in sobs.

Previously, their father-son-moments had been rather awkward, and more friend like, but that day, Will needed his dad, and Apollo obliged, rubbing soothing circles on his son's back.

Eventually they sat down in the meadow, and when Will had calmed down enough, he gave Apollo a little piece of paper with directions to New Rome, which Apollo hadn't been able to find, much to his confusion. After all, Apollo sees all. It's hard to hide from the god of the sun.

Apollo gasped, when suddenly it seemed as if New Rome appeared out of the ground, that had been bare before.

"Neat trick!" he exclaimed, wide-eyed.

"Wait till you meet the girl who did it" Will grinned, still sniffling.

"One of Hecate's?"

"In a way." Will said mysteriously, as they got back in the chariot and slowly glided down towards the large house on the edge of enclave.

"You'll meet her soon enough. They should come back in a couple of hours."

"Back from where? Is it wise for you to go anywhere these days?" Apollo asked worriedly. An emotion he hadn't been very used to.

"They went to Ogygia for training. Believe me, it wouldn't be wise to do that here. You'll understand. I just want to get within the borders before we can speak more."

"That's cool, just hang tight then." Apollo urged the chariot faster, and they were at the House with the speed of light. They parked near Leo's workshop, and walked up to the House, where Rachel Dare waited for them.

Rachel greeted Apollo with a big hug, that would have probably bruised regular people. Will often wondered about those two. Sometimes it seemed to be a lot more, than a god/oracle relationship between the two of them. Especially after the Trials. He tried not to think about it though. After all, he and Rachel were about the same age. For his dad to go there, was just awkward. But then again, it was already awkward, when his dad had been the same age as himself.

Man, being a demigod could be confusing.

He decided to let the two get _reacquainted_ , and went in the kitchen, to get some drinks and snacks together. They would need them for their meeting later.


	30. Chapter 30

_They kept travelling through the Underworld. Sometimes by foot, sometimes by shadow travel._

 _Nico showed her the rivers of the Underworld, but they only saw Phlegethon and Cocytus, from a distance. Nico never wanted to go anywhere near Tartarus, if he could help it. He had heard enough scary stories to last a lifetime._

 _He had shown her the Lethe, river of forgetfulness, which he had been washed in, when he was younger, in order to forget about, what happened to his mother_

 _and Mnemosyne, the river of memory, which he so often had felt tempted to drink of._

 _Every time he had refrained. He had seen in a vision, what happened to his mother. He didn't need to remember the feelings he had, at the time as well._

 _He felt tempted to tell her, but decided not to. He didn't want her pity._

 _Their last stop before returning to the palace, was Persephone's garden. One of Nico's favorite places in the Underworld. He and Persephone got along better, after the war. She had even agreed to move the petrified victims of Medusa to another part of the palace._

 _Without the grotesque statues, it was really rather beautiful. He heard Hermione gasp beside him, as they entered the courtyard. In the flowerbeds were glowing mushrooms in all colors, casting an ethereal light over the entire garden. Instead of flowers were precious stones. In the middle were the orchard of pomegranates, spreading their scent of temptation. He didn't realize how romantic it actually was here, and that thought made his cheeks red. He hoped the light from the mushrooms would cover that up._

 _He didn't need to worry about that though. He looked at her, as she stared transfixed at the strange plants and precious gems of diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires. He shouldn't have looked at her. She looked too beautiful in that light._

 _He was broken out of his reverence, when she turned her attention to the orchard. She felt drawn to the pomegranates, he could tell. She reached out a hand, to touch the nearest fruit._

" _Don't" He said. "You don't want to be bound here forever."_

 _She retracted her hand, as if burned, when she broke out of the trance. Nico decided it was time to return to the palace. He grabbed her dress again, and they shadow traveled into the throne room. Hades sat on his throne, rubbing his temples._

 _He looked up, with weary eyes, when they entered, and sighed heavily. He sent Nico a look, that made him not want to ask any questions._

" _Miss Granger."_

" _Hermione, please" She smiled at the god of the Underworld, who raised a brow._

" _Hermione. I believe your time with us has come to an end. Although the days-"_

" _DAYS!?" Hermione interrupted "Merlin! They will be so worried!" She panicked._

 _Nico smirked. "Don't worry about it, Princess. In upper world, it will only have been like three hours. You could just say you had fallen asleep or something."_

 _Hades smiled at the moniker, his son had automatically given the girl. Very interesting._

" _Nico, will you please escort Hermione back to the world of the living? And after, please return. I have something to discuss with you."_

 _Nico nodded, and grabbed her dress again, shadow travelling to the place he had found her._

…

 _They stood under the tree, Hermione had been sitting under, when Nico had found her. Hermione was blinking in the sunlight that suddenly felt way too harsh._

 _It was hard to comprehend, that she was suddenly back in the normal world. But what was normal anyways? Her head was buzzing with all the information she had received. In the Underworld, it was easy to pretend it was all a dream, but now, in the harsh sunlight, it was harder to pretend._

 _She was adopted. Her father was a god. She had met a son of Hades. She had been to the goddamn Underworld!_

 _What was she supposed to do now?_

 _She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, but found herself unable to speak. She saw her book bag was still lying in the grass near the tree. She dug around for a spare piece of parchment, and a pen, she had snuck with her at the start of term. She didn't understand, why people in the wizarding world were still using quills. They were messy, they broke easily, and it was unpractical having to carry around bottles of ink, that might crack or spill. Unfortunately, she was already an outsider. No need to advertise it, so she kept her pens hidden._

 _She gave him a scrap of parchment_

" _This is my address. If you ever have time, you're welcome to stop by. You- you know. If you want." She stammered._

 _He looked surprised, but took it anyway, staring at it reverently._

" _Thank you" He whispered._

" _The phone number to my parent's house is there as well. I don't know how good reception you get in the underworld though." She tried to joke, but Nico was still staring at the piece of parchment, hesitating._

" _I'll try to keep in touch." He smiled slightly._

 _She went to hug him, but he stepped away, making her frown._

" _I'll see you around" He said, disappearing into the shadows._

 _That's when Hermione looked down, and saw, that she was still wearing the beautiful red dress, with the ruby encrusted belt._

" _Oh, for crying out loud." She mumbled, exasperated. Now, she had to somehow sneak into the school, all the way up to the Gryffindor Tower, without anyone noticing her statement outfit. It was times like these, when Harry's cloak could really come in handy._

 _She looked around, seeing no one, and she started sneaking towards the castle, staying in the shadows._

 _She had forgotten to look up, though, or she would have seen a very curious Draco Malfoy, sitting on his broom, observing her from above._

…

 _When Nico returned, it was to an even more weary looking Hades. He cleared his throat, and Hades looked up at him._

" _Father?"_

" _I have spoken to Poseidon" He sighed heavily. "He had not known, that his daughter is alive. It seems, something happened, not long after her birth, that convinced Poseidon, Hermione and her mother had passed away."_

 _Nico hesitated. "Do you think it was Zeus?"_

" _No. It wasn't. It was my first thought as well, but it seems like it had something to do with the war I sent you to investigate."_

 _Nico nodded. From, what he had learned through his observations, that war had been brutal._

" _But then what? Why didn't Poseidon stay? Didn't he want to see her?"_

 _Hades ran a hand over his face._

" _No. He did not wish to see her"_

" _How could he not want to see her? If he thought she was dead, why didn't he want to see her?"_

" _Nico. Poseidon's business is his own. You would do well to remember that." Hades told his son, sternly._

 _Nico bowed his head._

" _He did, however request that she be trained."_

" _Okay, so we'll send her to Camp Half-blood."_

" _No. He requested_ you _to do the training. She would need to be kept secret."_

 _Nico snapped his head up. "Me? Are you kidding? No way." He said, in disbelief_

" _Yes, way." Hades said dryly. "You will train the girl, and I will send you on missions together."_

" _No, absolutely not. I work alone. I'll just freak her out."_

 _Hades lifted an eyebrow. "Like she freaked out, during your trip around the Underworld?"_

 _Nico huffed. He really didn't want to give the real reason. That he was scared of getting too close to her, that in reality, it was_ him _, being freaked out by_ her _and the way, that she apparently didn't care at all, that he was the son of Hades, and had almost killed her. What was he supposed to do with that? And then there was the crush he had on her brother._

 _He frowned, and decided that a change in subject was in order._

" _When we were walking in the Fields of Asphodel, there was this girl. She was in Asphodel, but I could tell she was remembering everything. She wasn't fading. She is a sister of mine, isn't she? I mean, I tried to find Bianca once, but she must have been in Elysium. But this girl is my sister too"_

 _Hades frowned._

" _That sounds likely. Is there a point?"_

" _I was just wondering. You know, if it might be possible to-" Nico interrupted himself. There was no use in asking the question, when he knew the answer was negative._

" _Thanatos is gone at the moment" Hades said speculatively. "If a soul were to leave the Underworld, it could be possible. With a little help."_

 _Nico looked at Hades, his brow knitted in confusion. "What do you mean?"_

" _If I were to lend a hand in such a venture, will you agree to train the girl?"_

 _Nico's eyes widened in disbelief._

" _Y-yes" He stammered_

" _Shall we swear it on the River Styx?"_

 **Thank you for your very kind reviews. I really love it!**


	31. Chapter 31

The road home was considerably bumpier, than when they traveled to Ogygia.

At first it had been smooth sailing. (Hermione was still sitting stiff as a board), but then out of the blue, they were attacked by two storm spirits. Hermione had forgotten about the protective enchantments.

The spirits came charging at them out of nowhere. One of them landed right in front of Leo.

Leo, who was normally easy-going and happy, obviously took great offence. He scowled at the spirit, who grinned in return.

"Dylan" Leo growled

"Little Leo!" The spirit said cheerfully. "I see you're not as dead as I'd heard you were."

"I died, now I'm better, as you see."

"Hey, Dylan! S'up" Percy smirked from his seat, and gave Dylan a mock salute. "How've you been since your last trip to the ocean?"

The wind spirit sneered at Percy "You little-"

The other wind spirit had moved behind them, and was now floating next to Festus, his hand crackling with electricity, stretched out threateningly towards the dragon.

"Bronze is a metal, it can be used as a conductor, can't it?"

Hermione was fighting back a smirk, and instead decided to try out her acting.

She painted her face in a horrified look, which wasn't that hard, considering their altitude, and exclaimed "Please don't! What do you want?"

Leo turned around, looking like he was about to give her a lecture on the conductivity of celestial bronze. She gave him a hard stare, hoping he would take the hint.

"Um, yeah! What do you want?"

"What we want, is the location of Camp Jupiter." Dylan snarled. "It has been hidden, so not even the gods can find it!"

Now, Hermione couldn't help but smirk. She was very proud of her handiwork, and proud of Reyna, who was a great secret keeper.

"Now, what would you want with information like that?" She asked.

"We are back working for Zeus! As we should be!" The unnamed storm spirit yelled, and grabbed Festus with his sparking hand.

Nothing happened. Both spirits' eyes widened comically.

"NOOO!" Dylan screamed.

Hermione grabbed her hairpin and twisted it into her beloved sword. She forgot all about her fear of heights, as she and Nico slashed and stabbed at the storm spirit, that had been sorely disappointed. He still tried to blast them with bouts of electricity.

Percy was trying to take down Dylan, as Leo protected Festus. Leo was the one who had the last laugh though.

Dylan was floating right in front of them, and had summoned a tornado, which he stood in the middle of. He was about to charge at them, when Leo sent a huge ball of fire towards him.

All the oxygen Dylan had stored inside him, exploded in a huge inferno. Unfortunately, Festus went straight through that inferno.

Leo went unscathed, because – Leo. Percy managed to raise a shield of water, but it wasn't enough to cover Nico and Hermione, who were caught by surprise. Hermione tried to duck, but lost her balance. For a split second, she thought she was going to fall to her death, but her left foot was caught in the stirrup, Leo had installed.

White hot pain shot up through her leg, as she felt her knee twisting out of its joint. She heard Nico calling out in pain, as he was hit by the wave of fire, but she couldn't see him.

She felt someone grabbing at her injured leg, and her vision started to darken around the edges. The pain was overwhelming. That, and the panic of hanging upside down miles up in the air, really didn't help her fear of heights.

She felt herself being pulled up, and she finally passed out due to the pain.

…

Will was in the living room, when he heard the crash of Festus landing hard. He heard a cry for help in the distance, and sprinted outside, where saw Leo supporting Nico, who looked badly burned, and Percy struggling to carry Hermione, who had passed out. Her left leg was hanging in an unnatural angle.

Crap.

He ran over to Percy, and helped him support Hermione, so they were carrying her between them. As soon as he touched her, he felt her pain. Her leg was damaged badly. Several ligaments were torn, and fractures to the tibia. He needed to get the leg stabilized quickly, before the swelling took over. Either that, or have his father help him. Unfortunately, no one had seen either Apollo or Rachel for a while.

Awkward.

He and Percy carried Hermione into the room in the guest wing, she and Nico had occupied. They laid her on the bed, and Leo followed, depositing Nico on a chair.

Nico had minor burns on his arms and face, and Will tossed him a piece of ambrosia.

"Thanks man."

"No prob. Can you help me here?" He gestured to the leg, and Nico drew his knife, cutting up her pant leg.

The two of them set to work in silence, but with a smooth efficiency, that can only come with working together for years. Nico made bandages ready, and Will set the leg in place, pushing a bit of healing magic, to help with the fracture.

When they were done, they both sat down in chairs, Will panting slightly from the exertion of the healing.

"You need a shower," he told Nico. "You stink like barbecue."

Nico complied, leaving Will in the chair, to think. He had felt something weird, when he tried to assess her injuries. Her left arm wasn't quite normal. It was like a cut, but not like any cut, he had ever seen or felt before. He stood up to examine it, and was just about to push up her sleeve, but was interrupted when she woke up.

When she woke up, it wasn't slowly. It was with a gasping breath, and sitting up so fast, she accidentally head-butted him.

"Ow! What was that for?" He exclaimed.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm so sorry." She apologized.

Will chuckled through his nosebleed.

"Don't worry about it. I stabilized your leg, and wrapped it up as best as I could. I couldn't save your pants though. Had to cut them to get to the injury" He said sheepishly and gestured to her leg, where her pants were torn, almost to her hip.

She smirked, and waved her hand over her leg and said "Reparo"

Will watched wide eyed, as he saw the fabric of her pants, weaving itself together.

"Um… Anyway. My dad's here, and we should probably get to the meeting."

Hermione grabbed his hand, and looked at him, worry evident in her eyes.

"It can wait a moment. How are you feeling?" She asked gently.

Will plopped down on the bed next to her.

"It's been hard. He's still locked up, but I haven't really been home. Just for extra clothes and scrubs and stuff"

"That's understandable. Can't you just stay here?" She asked with a small smile.

"Yeah. I might. Annabeth says she plans on adding another wing anyway."

She threw her arms around him in a tight hug.

Nico cleared his throat from the doorway, where he stood, watching them with an amused smirk, his hair still damp from his shower.

"Morning Princess. Let's get to the meeting. The others are in the dining room."

She and Will stood up slowly, and when Nico went to help her, she pushed both boys out of the way, refusing their help.

She walked along, with a heavy limp, Nico walking right behind her, ready to catch her stubborn ass.

"You know, you look cute, when you walk like a pirate" He said with a dry smirk.

"Oh, shove it, Di Angelo." She growled.

Will looked between them, melancholically. It had been easier seeing them interact, when he had someone of his own. He wondered if this was what Nico felt, when he had just gotten together with Joseph. It was strange though, because he didn't feel so much as a third wheel as he had expected. So much for small favors.

When they entered the dining room, Will noticed Apollo nodding to himself, as if he had been right about something.

Hermione sat down in front of Apollo, looking at him calculatingly. Will sat down on her left side, and Nico on her right.

"Did they fill you in?" She asked.

Apollo lifted his eyebrows at her boldness. "You're powerful" He remarked.

Hermione leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms in front of her defensively, arching her own eyebrows, waiting for a proper answer.

"Yes, Rachel gave me uh – a general idea."

Will was cringing internally at the pink hue that spread on his father's cheeks.

Hermione looked equally unimpressed. "So, you understand, what we're trying to do?"

"I understand the what, and the why. I'm having a bit of a problem with the where, the when and the how." Apollo grumbled.

Hermione sighed. "Well, we want to make Zeus mortal, just as he did to you. Not necessarily as a punishment, but at least to give him some perspective."

"But then how do you plan on doing this?"

"Not just us. You too, we need you."

"Me?" Apollo's eyes bugged out. Apparently, Rachel had neglected to tell him that part.

"No. No way. This is crazy, I can't do that, I'm not powerful enough"

"I know" Hermione said gently, and put her hand on Apollo's "That's why we're doing it together"

Apollo's eyes narrowed again, when he felt the power coursing in Hermione's veins.

"But then, hypothetically, if we make him mortal, what about Olympus? Is this because you want your father on the throne?" He accused. "Don't think I can't feel the power of Poseidon. There's something else, but that is definitely Poseidon!"

"No. We don't want Poseidon on the throne. It belongs to Zeus, but at the moment he is too paranoid to rule properly. We do need a stand in though." Nico interrupted.

"And who did you have in mind? Who would want the throne, only to have to give it back again?" Apollo countered.

"You." Will bit his lip, looking at his dad.

Apollo turned his head to look at his son.

"Me?" He asked bewildered.

"Yes, you. You wouldn't want that responsibility in the long run" Percy added, smirking. The other demigods around the table nodded determinately.

Apollo sighed. "Alright. I'll do it. Tell me the plan."

…

After filling Apollo in, they were all exhausted.

"I need a cup of tea" Hermione mused out loud, making Leo smirk.

"You're so British, Milkshake"

She stood up, and Will wanted to ask her to bring the tray of snacks he had prepared earlier. He grabbed her left arm, to get her attention, but was hit with a sudden pain, that shot down his own arm.

He felt like acid was running through his veins, entering through his hand, that was grabbing Hermione's left underarm. He tried letting go, but found that he couldn't.

He cried out, and looked around at concerned faces, of his father and the other demigods. Especially Hermione looked terrified. His muscles started cramping, starting from his arm, moving down his entire body.

"WILL!" He heard Hermione screaming. He felt hands lowering him from the chair to the floor, but it seemed so far away, as if it wasn't his body. The only thing he felt was pain, the only thing he saw, was the terrified eyes of Hermione.

"WILL!" She screamed again, but it seemed further and further away. He felt his body go limp and heavy, as he slowly slid into unconsciousness.


	32. Chapter 32

Draco cringed, as he walked up to his ancestral home. He had always loved the beautiful Manor, but after sixth year, that feeling had turned bitter. He hoped, that given time, the shadows would lift, and he would see the beautiful gardens and halls again. At the moment, all he could see were bodies littering the grounds, blood smeared everywhere, and Death Eaters patrolling. He could even feel the putrid stench of sweat and vomit from the torture victims.

He supposed it wasn't so bad for him. He could leave, whenever it became too much. His mother didn't have that luxury.

He had seen so many people suffer and die, that it was hard to remember his first broom ride, or the apple tree he would crawl up in, to hide his annoying nanny. The horrors were still too close. Some of the patches of grass still had scorch marks.

He was just about to walk through the front door, when a giant black ominous looking owl swooped down and landed in a nearby tree. Tied to its leg was a small roll of parchment.

Draco approached the bird with caution. Its menacing eyes followed his every move. It ruffled its feathers, and scowled at him. In a way, it reminded him of his late godfather. He carefully untied the parchment, and read

 _Ferretface._

 _We should probably meet up, right? Right. We've got some interesting things to discuss._

 _You can find me tonight, at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London._

 _\- Scarhead._

 _PS: Please burn this after reading, and give Sparkles a scratch on the head. (Ginny thinks she's great at naming birds)_

Draco laughed out loud, and dug out his wand, muttering "incendio", setting the note alight.

"Sparkles?" The owl turned its menacing scowl towards him, clearly reacting to the name. He opened the door, and summed a quill and a spare piece of parchment.

 _Scarhead._

 _I'll drop by around nine. There better be firewhiskey._

 _\- Ferretface_

He tied the note to Sparkles' leg, and told it to fly back to Harry. Internally, he felt rather disturbed by the sudden camaraderie he found with The-Boy-Who-Was-Too-Stubborn-To-Die, but he figured it would drive his father mental. Points for that. Besides, he supposed Boy Wonder could be okay, even if he would never be a member of the fan club.

He walked inside, and up the staircase. There were still scratches on the walls, and the marble was cracked in some places. Many carpets were torn, but most of the ones with questionable stains had been burned in a big bonfire in the courtyard. He kept finding things though. Sometimes it was something innocent, like a shoe. Other times it was a dangerous dark artefact, that the ministry had missed on their raid. Every time he found one of those, he packed it away carefully, and sent an owl to the ministry, to send someone to pick it up. The trash, he just threw out the window, into the courtyard. He would need to build a new bonfire soon.

He hoped to be able to persuade his mother, that maybe it would be smartest to just throw out everything. He found the thought of starting over appealing, but his mother was clinging to her old furniture, as if hoping that the memories they held, from better times would somehow erase the horror they had witnessed, while sitting in those same couches.

Two days ago, they had had a very loud argument about the drawing room. Draco wanted to torch the entire place, but his mother wanted to try to save the chandelier. He had told her, in no uncertain terms, that unless she wanted to go down on her own knees, and wash Hermione Grangers blood off of every single crystal, it wasn't happening.

She had taken offence to that. She found it perfectly acceptable to pay someone to do such a menial task. He hadn't spoken to her since. He was just postponing the inevitable though. He needed to speak to her about the Manor, and he had other questions for her, as well.

"Mother?" He called out sofly, as he knocked on the door to his mother's private living room.

Narcissa Malfoy was sitting, majestically as ever, hair in a perfect bun, perfect stature, perfect silk robes without a single crinkle on them.

"Draco. So kind of you to join me" she replied frostily, not even looking up from her book.

He winced, but held fast anyways. "I haven't changed my mind about that chandelier"

Her head snapped up.

"Your father-" she started

"Isn't coming back" Draco gently interrupted.

"It was his mother's. Your grandmother's" she tried pointing out.

"Then thank Merlin it's gone, along with that old hag."

Narcissa gasped, and held her hand to her mouth, but didn't manage to completely hide the amused little smile.

"We should not speak ill of the dead, dear." She said carefully, trying to regain some of her cool composure.

Draco rolled his eyes.

"I have some plans tonight, Mother. I don't know, when I'll return, so don't wait up."

"Well, that sounds interesting." She said, with a coy smile.

"It probably will be, but not the way you hope. I have an appointment with Harry Potter."

Her only response was a lifted eyebrow.

He sighed "It's about a case, Mother. The minister wants me working as an auror" He said, with ill hidden pride.

"Are you sure about this, Draco? It won't be easy for you."

"I know. And it wasn't my first choice. I'd rather be a curse breaker, but I suppose this is a way for them to keep an eye on me for a while. I could use it as a stepping stone." He mused.

Narcissa nodded. "I suppose. But what is the case?"

"Well, that's where things get complicated, and there was actually something I wanted to ask you."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously "Yes?"

"What do you know about the McKinnon family?"

That was not the question she had expected, and her eyes widened.

"Well. They were a very powerful pureblood family. Not Sacred 28, but powerful nonetheless. They had been neutral, until their daughter Marlene openly declared herself as a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Of course, they lost more power, when the girl got pregnant out of marriage."

"Did they ever have ties to the Black family?"

She looked at him calculatingly. "There was talk of that Marlene-girl and Sirius. Everyone thought the baby was his, but nothing was ever confirmed. Why?"

"Do you know how they died?"

His mother sighed. "I believe there was a raid. Your father would obviously know more, but I think Avery and Rosier took point. I remember, I thought it was horrible. The baby was no more than a few months old, and they came, bragging that they had burned the house to the ground with Fiendfyre. Are you going to try to capture Avery? I heard he escaped. Rosier is dead, thank Merlin."

"No, I'm not on Avery's case, but he just made my priority list as well. I'm working another sort of mystery. Well, it's solved now, I supposed. The baby was a girl, and she escaped. I can't tell you who the father is, but it isn't Sirius black."

"You found her?" She asked, surprised

"The girl was Hermione Granger."

He smirked, as his mother's jaw dropped.

…

After dinner at the Burrow, and the obligatory cup of tea, and cookies, Harry made his way to Grimmauld Place. He went directly into the kitchen, where his owl sat, scowling at him.

He had chosen an owl, that would be the complete opposite of Hedwig. When he saw this one in Eeylops Owl Emporium, sitting in the corner, scowling menacingly at all the patrons, it immediately reminded him of his old Potions professor. Which just made it even more hilarious, when Ginny decided on the name "Sparkles" Luckily the owl seemed to like the name well enough, and at least it wasn't as bad as "Pigwidgeon"

Sparkles was sitting on top of the cabined, impatiently waving the note on his leg at him, as if to say "Get this stupid thing off me"

He untied the string on the parchment, and gave the owl a treat and a scratch on the head. Sparkles closed his eyes contentedly, ruffled his feathers, and took off, flying through the house, presumably to find the attic, where Harry had made a cool space for the owl. He called it the Bat-cave.

According to the note, he had about half an hour till Malfoy's arrival. He sighed and made his way into the study, where he slumped in a chair near the fire, dozing off.

He woke up, when the fire roared.

"Hey, mate. Were you sleeping?"

"What? No, no I wasn't not" Harry slurred, making Draco's brows rise.

"Too late for you, old man?"

"Tosser." He mumbled, making Draco laugh.

"Whatever. You speak with Mrs. Weasley?"

"Yeah. Didn't learn much, except that Marlene was close with– "

"Sirius Black." Draco finished. "I know. It was him, who left Hermione at that orphanage."

"Really?" Harry frowned "Then, why didn't he tell her, in fifth year? Mrs. Weasley said Sirius was really close to the both of them."

"He probably had his reasons. Maybe he thought she didn't know she was adopted? Maybe he didn't want to butt in, or maybe it was safer for her not to know. After all, everyone thought she was dead."

"It's just hard for me to process."

"I get that. I also learned something else. The raid, in which the McKinnons were killed, was apparently lead by Avery and Rosier. Rosier is dead, but Avery is still loose, isn't he? We should probably keep an eye out for him-"

Draco was interrupted, when the fire roared green again, and Hermione's face appeared in the hearth, screaming

"HARRY! HELP!"

 **Please remember to leave a review :)**

 **Btw; That thing with Rachel and Apollo? You** _ **cannot**_ **convince me that it hasn't been happening. How else would Apollo know Rachel's cave so intimately?**


	33. Chapter 33

_Pembrokeshire, Wales_

 _She had been told, not to go outside, especially at night, and she knew it wasn't safe, but when had she ever been good at doing what she was told?_

 _She was walking on top of the cliffs near the beach. It was one of her favourite thinking places. No matter how dangerous it was to go outside these days, it would be considerably more dangerous for her mother, if she were to stay in that house for one more hour. She was overbearing, as most mothers are, but lately she had been pressuring more and more for a marriage between her and Sirius._

 _She loved him, she really did, but not like that. She knew, that compared to other purebloods, she had it easier, and for most purebloods, a marriage based on friendship was as good as it got, but she wanted more. She wanted to love and be loved, she wanted passion and romance. Not just another name for the pedigree._

 _She had been wandering, lost in thought, when the cliff she stood on, suddenly exploded._

" _There she is" She heard someone yelling in the distance._

 _She knew, she couldn't find a proper hiding place here. There were no bushes, no trees. Only cliffs and a fifty-foot drop, down to the raging sea, where more rocks waited, making death a very large possibility._

 _Fighting it was, then._

 _She had kept her wand at the ready for her entire trip. She was rebellious, not suicidal. She counted her attackers. There were three of them. She lifted her wand, and aimed it at the nearest man._

" _Stupefy!" She yelled, shooting a red light at the attacker, following up, with a fast "Protego!" against the barrage of spells that were bound to come from the other two._

 _Unfortunately, she didn't hit the man, and he and his companions started shooting blue and red streaks of light against her, making rocks explode._

 _She had to jump and dance, not to get hit, and the men were laughing at her._

" _Crucio!" One of the screamed eventually, and She thought it was worth it to step into the battle properly, not that they were getting drained, from the powerful curses she had dodged._

" _Reducto!" She cried, aiming at the ground, where one of the men were standing. He laughed at her victoriously, when he dodged, but the spell made the cliff side unstable, and it didn't take many seconds for him to slide to his death in the sea below._

 _The other two men growled at her, and intensified their spell casting. "Crucio!" "Sectumsempra!" The last one – a slicing hex, caught her wand arm, and she let out a hiss, as she felt the blood starting to run down. "Stupefy!" She screamed, getting the man who had tried to hit her with the Torture Curse._

" _Expelliarmus!" The other one called, and her wand flew out of her fingers, that were slippery with blood._

 _Crap. Now, she was unarmed, and the man kept advancing. She was forced out to the edge of the cliff, and was starting to debate, whether to take her chance with the rocky shore or to let herself be trapped by the sneering Death Eater._

" _Avada Ke – "_

 _He was interrupted mid-spell, when something suddenly whooshed past her ear._

 _In front of her, her attacker stood, wide eyed. An enormous blue, glowing trident, sticking out of his chest._

 _She turned around, and came face to face, or more face to chest, with a man, who most definitely hadn't been there before. She looked up, at the most gorgeous man she had possibly ever seen._

 _He was tanned, with black hair and amazing sea-green eyes. His shirt was ridiculous though._

" _Um. Hi." He said, eloquently._

 _That's when she realised, that he was standing on top of a huge wave, making him level with the cliff._

" _Well, hi yourself. How are you doing that?" she asked incredulously._

 _She had heard of elemental magic, of course, but never on this level._

" _Let's just say I have a rather specific skillset." He said, as he wandlessly summoned the trident, that was embedded in the perpetrator's chest._

" _You're not a regular wizard, are you?" she scrutinised him._

" _Nope" he replied, smirking cheekily._

 _She narrowed her eyes at him._

" _You fight very well." He told her._

 _She snorted and gestured to the body lying on the ground "Not well enough"_

" _No, no. You are beautiful, when you fight" He assured her._

 _She raised an eyebrow. "I generally tend not to care about beauty, when I'm about to die."_

" _Good, because you have nothing to worry about" He said with a small smile. "Now tell me, what has you walking alone along the coast tonight?"_

 _She sighed. "My mother wants me to marry. Preferably to my best friend. Some might be satisfied with that, but is it so wrong to want romance?"_

" _No, that's not wrong at all" The man smiled at her "Can I join you on your walk?"_

…

 _She was beautiful. He could tell she would be an exact copy of her mother. Already now, the hair on her head had started to curl. He wondered, if she would be more like himself or her mother in nature. He could definitely feel the sea in her._

" _Hermione. She should be called Hermione. Daughter of the most beautiful woman in the world."_

…

 _He sat on the beach, his heart broken in a thousand pieces. He had been too late. When he came, he found the house engulfed in magical flames, that not even he could put out._

 _There was no way, anything could have survived the cursed inferno. For the first time in centuries, he sat and cried, tears as salty as the sea._

 _He couldn't protect them. He was a god, and he should have been able, but he couldn't. He let himself wallow in the pain of the loss of his love, and his infant child._

 _How anyone could do such a thing to a baby, he would never understand. I all the millennia he had lived, this was beyond him._

 _Sally and Percy were safe, and would hopefully stay that way, but he didn't know if he could bear, having any more children._

 _He knew, that losing Hermione and Marlene would haunt him for many years to come._

…

 **Now, I will neither confirm nor deny, if my comment about Rachel's cave was intentional.**

 **But seriously. Apollo spends the first half of the entire book, fangirling over Rachel's vivacious smile, her wisdom, her art, not to mention the 'vigour and excitement' she brought to the job and her ability to cheer him up, as mentioned in chapter 20.**

 **And then "The cave was not as cosy as I remembered". Come on!**

 **Another small detail, I should probably have mentioned many chapters ago. My punctuation probably sucks. I'm Danish, and our rules for punctuation are very confusing. So confusing, that the Ministry for Education is currently revising them.**


	34. Chapter 34

Speaking for so long, had left Hermione parched.

"I need a cup of tea" She said wearily.

"You're so British, Milkshake" Leo remarked, making her stick her tongue out at him. She stood, turned around and started to walk towards the kitchen, when Will grabbed her arm. At first, she thought nothing of it. She felt the dull pain, that was expected, when someone grabs an arm, with a half-healed wound, but suddenly Will started squeezing, and she felt a surge of energy shoot into her arm.

He let out a strangled cry, and Hermione looked down at him, and was alarmed to see dark tendrils creeping up his hand, starting from where his fingers were digging in to the shirt, that was covering up her torture-wound. Apollo stood up, his chair toppling over, behind him.

Will's hand tightened painfully around her arm, and she could feel, rather than see, when the seizures started. "WILL!" She called, but he didn't respond.

She faintly registered Nico coming from behind her, to catch Will, lowering him carefully onto the floor, she followed him down, and sat crouching next to him.

"WILL!" She screamed again. To her horror, he didn't respond. Instead his eyes rolled to the back of his head. His entire body went limp, and he wasn't breathing.

She frantically felt, along his neck. "I can't feel a pulse!" She cried

"NO! He can't be dead! I can't heal him if he's dead!" Apollo yelled, tears streaming down his face. "You have to revive him!"

"Where's Jason? He can do the defib-thingy" Percy said frantically

"I don't know!" Piper fretted "He's been acting weird about the whole Zeus-thing, he didn't want to come"

Hermione started doing, what little CPR, she knew, trying to jolt a little more power in him. Unfortunately, healing magic didn't work very well on demigods. She and Nico had learned that the hard way.

Finally, he took a small breath on his own, and Apollo pushed her out of the way. He waved his hands across his son's form, but stopped and rested his hand on his chest.

"I can't – I can't heal this." He whispered in broken disbelief.

"What do you mean you can't heal it?" Hazel softly asked

"This is magic of Hecate's world, but it's so twisted and torn. Magic was never supposed to be this way." He said, looking Hermione dead in the eye.

Hermione herself, had never felt so horrified, and that said a lot, but Apollo broke her out of her stupor. She sprinted into the living room and grabbed the small jar of floo powder she had placed on the mantle before leaving for Ogygia.

She lit the fireplace wandlessly and threw in some of the floo powder. "Twelve Grimmauld Place!" She called on a hunch, and stuck her head into the fire.

"HARRY! HELP!"

…

Harry scrambled towards the fireplace.

"Hermione!"

"Harry, I need your help, one of my friends has been cursed, I don't know how, but it's like the curse from my scar went into him! Can you please come through?"

Harry glanced back

"Okay, but I kind of have a visitor. It might be a good idea to bring him along."

"I'm sorry, Harry, but I really don't want to deal with Ronald right now" she told him in an undertone.

"Well, it isn't Ron, but I don't know, how much you want to deal with this one either" He said, pointing his thumb over his back.

"Oh, piss off Potter" She heard a familiar voice drawl.

She looked over Harry's shoulder, and saw none other than Draco Malfoy rolling his eyes.

"Draco! Perfect! You're even better than Harry!" she exclaimed, making Harry drop his jaw, and Draco smirk.

"Just say 'House of Ten', please come quickly."

She drew her head out of the fire, and promptly lost her composure.

She felt awful. It was all her fault. If he hadn't touched her arm, Will wouldn't be lying half-dead on the floor.

She was startled, when Leo put a hand on her shoulder.

"It isn't your fault" He told her gently. "I can see it in your face, that you think that, but it isn't. Whatever is wrong, anyone could see that it was unintentional."

She shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I should have been more careful, I – "

"Did you know it could happen? And were you careless in spite of it?"

Hermione sighed "No. But it still feels awful. Could you do me a favor? There should be two guys coming through shortly. Could you show them through to the dining room?"

"Um, sure" He looked uncertainly at the fireplace.

…

"I have an idea. This is an old Black house, isn't it?"

"Yes, but hold on – "

"I've been researching the dagger, Bellatrix used on Hermione, and I found a book on Black family curses, which means there should be a copy of it here somewhere. Where is the library?"

"Just, wait a minute, okay? It's been on my mind a couple of times, but I dismissed it – Since when do you call her _Hermione_? Not Granger or anything else. You're calling her _Hermione_ , and now she called you _Draco_. There's something I've missed, isn't there?" Harry demanded.

"Never mind that, we're wasting time!" Draco ground out, exasperatedly, trying to postpone that conversation as much as he could.

"This is _not_ over" Harry growled, and started down the hall, expecting Draco to follow.

…

"I've stabilized him, but he's dying." Apollo whispered brokenly. He was sitting on the dining room floor, looking less like a god than he ever had as Lester.

Even gods weren't supposed to play favorites with their children, but Will and Apollo shared a special bond, that he didn't have with any other of his children.

He looked up at Hermione, in sympathy. "What happened" he softly asked.

Hermione couldn't take it any longer. She broke down, sobbing on the floor. Nico sat down beside her, pulling her into an embrace.

"I have theories" She started in a tiny voice. Apollo nodded encouragingly.

"Demigod magic, and the magic from the wizarding world, are very different, and the consequences vary. For instance, wizarding healing doesn't work very well on demigods, and defensive spells don't work very well on monsters, but defensive spells work very efficiently on demigods. I've never tried healing a monster, so I can't say that it goes the other way with that as well."

She started, slowly switching over to lecture mode.

"The curse on my wound was to prevent healing. If I'm not mistaken, Will is not just healing others, he's healing himself. Am I right, Apollo?" She asked him gently.

Apollo looked to the ground and sighed heavily, looking just as weary as his thousands years of age would suggest.

"She's right. Without his healing abilities, Will would have been very sick. If not for the healing magic, he would have died from leukemia years ago." He admitted

"I don't understand" Nico said. "If he was dying, why couldn't I feel that?"

"Because he _wasn't_ dying. He _had_ the healing abilities. Now it's like everything is in fast-forward. He's getting more and more sick, and there's nothing we can do to stop it." Apollo whispered. Rachel sat down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"We will figure this out" Hermione promised. "There are two guys coming through. They might be able to help. I trust the both of them." She nodded determinately.

 **Please remember to leave a review :)**


	35. Chapter 35

"Did you see that?" Harry whispered, as he saw light flashing from the window. For a moment, he was afraid, that there was a duel going on outside, but then came the familiar rumble of thunder, and his shoulders sagged in relief. His senses were on high alert. Hermione had told them to come quickly, but Malfoy was still scanning the books in the library

"Come on, come on, come on" He mumbled, as if hoping the book would jump out of the bookshelf with a little encouragement

"Are you sure we're not wasting our time here?" Harry hissed impatiently. "Hermione's Floo call sounded pretty urgent."

"And what good will we be, if we go there, without actually being able to do anything, because we lack information? Hermione said it came from her scar, correct?"

Harry huffed, and went back to looking out of the window.

The sky outside was black, which was to be expected, considering the hour, but something was wrong with the clouds. For one, there weren't supposed to be any. The sky had been clear, when he left the Weasleys'

The clouds were heavy too. They blinked with pink and purple hues. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

In the distance, he could see lightning, striking in pink, purple and blue bolts. They covered an enormous area, and were moving fast across the city of London. It wasn't long before the lightnings got too close for his liking.

"Malfoy, you really need to hurry now!" He called urgently.

"Aha! Victory!" Draco shouted, waving a thick book above his head.

At that moment, the window exploded. Harry jumped away, to escape the glass, that was flying in all directions. Lightning was still striking out in the street, and he could hear screaming from outside. Large parts of the city were completely dark, obviously having lost their electricity.

They started running down the hall, back to the study.

"I don't get it. The protection on the house should withstand an attack!" Harry yelled at Draco.

"Yea? Did you take freak thunderstorms into account?"

"This is not some freak thunderstorm" Harry replied ominously.

"Whatever it is, it should be prepared for Hermione's wrath, no one should treat a library like that."

" _That's it_!" Harry yelled, and slammed Draco into the wall. "What the hell is going on?"

"Easy there. You really want to do this now?" Draco calmly replied.

"Yes! Exactly, right now!" He growled

Draco sighed "After the war, I contacted her. I knew, what my – what Bellatrix had done to her, and I knew the knife she had done it with. He ran a hand over his face. "I knew her wound wouldn't heal on its own, so I asked if I could have permission to research it. We met up some times, for me to check out the wound, and one thing led to another –"

"One thing led to another?" Harry interrupted, horrified.

Draco burst out laughing. "Oh, Merlin! Friendship, mate! Friendship!"

"Friendship?" Harry asked dumbfounded.

"Merlin, you should see your face! Yes, friendship, you really have _nothing_ to worry about from me on _that_ agenda." He chuckled.

His laughing was interrupted, when a huge explosion outside, reverberated throughout the house.

They ran the rest of the way to the study, where Sparkles sat, on the back of a chair, puffing up his feathers against the threatening sounds. Harry grabbed the bird, and held it against his chest, ignoring its indignant hooting.

He threw some Floo powder, yelling "House of Ten" and walked into the fire, Draco following shortly after him.

…

On the other side, they were met by a guy with light brown skin and curly black hair. He was looking at them with wide eyes and a huge grin.

"Whoa! I mean, seriously? She stuck her head in the fire, I saw that, but I basically do that every day, so there wasn't much novelty in that, I mean, she told me, that there would be people coming out, but being told, and seeing for yourself are two different things, and you even brought an owl! A dam owl!"

He was speaking a mile a minute, with just the tiniest hint of an accent, that indicated, that maybe English wasn't his first language. Harry and Draco just looked at him wide-eyed. It wasn't until then, that the guy really looked at their faces.

"Dude." He said, taken aback as he stared at Harry. "You look exactly like… Never mind! I'm Leo Valdez!" He exclaimed.

Harry was broken out of the stupor, this hurricane of a man had put him in. He released Sparkles, who flew to sit on a lamp, with a disgruntled hoot.

"Harry Potter, and this is Draco Malfoy" Harry introduced them, shaking Leo's hand.

"We were supposed to see Hermione, is she here?" Draco asked urgently.

"Yes! Sorry, she's right through here" Leo apologized, leading the way to the dining room.

…

"Yo, Percy, I found your clone" Leo announced, as they entered the dining room.

Around the room, were several people. Seated at a large table were a couple, sitting closely together. The girl was dark skinned, with hair as curly as Hermione. Her boyfriend was a huge Asian guy, who looked like he could kill them with his bare hands.

Next to them, a blonde girl sat, sending Leo a glare, obviously disapproving of his joking at a time like this.

Behind the blonde girl, stood a guy, who looked so much like Harry, it was almost bizarre. Near another door opening stood two other girls, both with light brown complexion. One of them had hair, that made Draco want to force her into a chair at his mother's hairdresser. The other one was looking at him with an expression so fierce, that he was surprised he hadn't spontaneously combusted. Leo moved over to a pretty girl with light brown hair, standing in a corner.

On the floor, several people were sitting around a body. There was a man, with golden hair, and behind him sat a girl that might have been a Weasley, for her red hair, and strange wardrobe. On the other side of the body, closest to them, sat Hermione in the arms of who he had now identified as Nico. She had obviously been crying.

Hermione stood up from Nico's embrace, and walked to greet them. She gave Draco a hug first, to Harry's surprise.

"It's not your fault." He mumbled into her ear.

She then went to hug Harry, clinging to him like a lifeline.

"I hate this, Harry." She whispered.

"We'll figure this out, like we figure everything out. And I'm going to get the story about Malfoy as well." He drew back, to look at her sternly.

That's when she noticed the cuts on his face.

"Oh, gods, what happened?" She looked between the both of them.

"It's got to be on the TV. Do you have a TV here?" Harry asked urgently.

"Sure. Leo?" The blonde girl asked.

Leo went over to what appeared to be a control panel in the corner of the room. He pressed a few buttons, and a screen lowered itself from the ceiling.

The screen came to life, and Draco jumped, with a small yelp, making most of the people in the room look at him curiously. On the screen were moving images, like in a wizarding photograph, but with more vibrant colors, and with sound. It showed an image of London, illuminated by thousands lightnings, dancing across the sky. Several parts of the city were dark, and in some places, fires were blazing.

"… can explain this extreme weather phenomenon. Government officials are advising people to stay indoors. Many areas are currently without power, including The London Bridge Hospital. So far, the number of casualties is unclear, but is expected to reach double digits. We're following the thunderstorm closely, with regular updates…" Leo put the TV on mute.

Everyone looked at each other with horror and concern.

"Looks like our plans are moving up" The Harry look-alike said, looking nauseous.

"What plans?" The real Harry asked.

"That's really complicated, Harry, but at the moment, I think we should focus on him." Hermione said, gesturing to the body lying on the floor.

Draco went over to crouch next to the young man. He was handsome, in a casual sort of way. His shaggy hair was blonde, but more a cheerful yellow, than the white that was his own. His face would be tanned, if he wasn't so pale, and he had freckles over the bridge of his nose.

More importantly though, was that he was unconscious, and his breathing was shallow, so he had to break out of his revelry, and concentrate. He was a case – a patient, although he couldn't help himself from asking;

"What's his name?"

The man with the golden hair, sat in front of him, and Draco noticed, that he bore a strong resemblance to the guy on the floor. He gave Draco a gentle smile

"His name is Will"

Draco nodded.

"So, what happened exactly?"

"Remember how we discussed, that the curse on the knife was to prevent healing? Well, Will is the son of Apollo" She gestured at the man, who was apparently a god, making Draco raise his brows. "Will inherited healing abilities from Apollo, but he doesn't just heal others, he uses them to heal himself. Without them he's going to die" She finished in a small voice.

"So, we need to find a cure, and preferably yesterday? I don't mean to be insensitive, but if you're the god of healing, couldn't you, do it?" He asked Apollo carefully.

"This magic is beyond my abilities." Apollo looked contrite. "It's dark, in a way, that magic should never be. Hecate would be ashamed of this."

Draco snorted. "Her and me both. This curse was an invention of my ancestors. I intend to erase it from existence. First, we heal him, and then I'll hunt down, and destroy every record of it." He sighed, gesturing to the book he held under his arm.

"I brought the book, but it might take some time to invent a counter curse, and taking the demi-god thing into account, I don't know, when I might have a solution, but I'll get to it."

"Just save him, please. He's my son" Apollo whispered brokenly.

"I will do everything in my power, I promise" Draco swore.

"I haven't even asked your name."

"It's Draco."

"No surname?"

"Let's just go with Draco. My surname is not something to be proud of." Draco cleared his throat. "Is there somewhere we can move him?"

"This way." Hermione replied.

She held out her hands, and levitated Will, wandlessly.

Both Harry and Draco gasped in shock. They had never seen that kind of display of wandless power, so effortlessly.

She didn't acknowledge their disbelieving faces, but instead walked with through the doorway, near which the girl with the fierce glare stood. She was still glaring at him, but he got the feeling, that this might just be her neutral expression.

He followed Hermione hesitantly, bringing the book along with him.

 **I'm very happy, and extremely proud, that fifty people are following this story, which is way more than I expected, when I started writing it. I really appreciate it guys!**

 **Now, please just spend a couple of seconds to write me a little review :)**


	36. Chapter 36

After Hermione and Draco had left with Will, the others stood, staring at the TV.

The images displayed were haunting. Patients being transferred from the hospital, that had been shut down. People being rescued out of the tube, because the trains had stopped underground. Buildings on fire because of lightning strikes. Scientists trying in vain to explain, how a thunderstorm of that magnitude could have even formed, much less taken everyone by surprise.

It wasn't long till Draco and Hermione returned.

Hermione plopped down on a chair exhaustedly. Nico went to sit beside her, slinging his arm around her, drawing her close, so she was leaning on him.

Harry sat down across from them, eyebrows raised.

"Oh, shut up, Harry."

By silent agreement, they all sat down at the table, one by one. Percy sat down beside Harry.

"Whoa." Leo blinked. "You know, seeing them separately was freaky, but seeing them together is insane. Are you sure you got the right sibling, Perce?"

Harry and Percy looked each other up and down.

"You're kind of handsome, mate" Harry said appreciatively

"Thanks man! You too!" Percy gave Harry an exaggerated wink, making Hermione roll her eyes and mumble "Gods, what have we started" under her breath.

"Yes, girls, you're both pretty. Can we get back to the matter at hand? Maybe some introductions?" The blonde-haired girl said.

"Right. So, I'm Harry, and this is Mal– Draco"

"And I'm Nico, but I have a feeling you knew that" Nico said.

"And I'm Annabeth" the blonde girl said.

"I'm Frank" the Asian guy waved his hand.

"Hazel" His girlfriend said.

Piper was the girl with the weird hair, Rayna was the girl, who looked ready for an argument, Rachel was the ginger, curly one. Harry himself was sitting next to Percy, and they had already been introduced to Leo.

"And I am Apollo" The man, who was apparently the god of the sun, sighed.

"There is another guy, called Jason, but he isn't around at the moment." The girl, Piper said, wringing her hands. Most of the people seemed uncomfortable at the mentioning of this Jason.

"We need to discuss, what we're going to do." Nico said. "Do we know for certain, what Joseph told his father?"

"No" Reyna sighed "We have to assume he told him everything. It certainly looks that way. Luckily, he didn't know much about the details of our plan."

"Reyna, do you think it's possible for Harry and Draco to interrogate him? He has wizarding ties."

"Sure, I don't see, why not."

"What do you mean, he has wizarding ties?" Draco asked.

"His name is the nephew of Avery, and from what I understand, he's still on the run. Something Joseph said, when he attacked me, made me think he might have been in contact with his uncle– "

"Wait a minute, he _attacked_ you?" Harry interrupted.

"Yes, yes," Hermione waved her hand dismissively "But he lost"

Leo smiled widely "What she means is, that she destroyed him."

"Not enough, for what he did to Will." She growled, making Nico squeeze her closer and kiss her temple. Harry narrowed his eyes. There was definitely something he needed to know there.

"If he could lead us to Avery, that would be amazing. He has a lot of crimes to answer to." Harry ground out.

Hermione looked at him curiously.

"No matter what, we need to think forward." She said. "We have a plan, and we need to implement it."

Apollo sat nodding his head in defeat.

If he hadn't known it, Harry would never have taken him for the god of the sun. At the moment, he was just looking like any other man, close to losing his son.

"I need to do an experiment, and I need your help, Apollo."

"What kind of experiment?" Apollo asked.

"I would like to try to apparate with you to Ogygia. Now that I've seen the place, it might be possible. I have no doubt Zeus is going to put up a fight. It would be better, if we could take that fight somewhere there would be no casualties."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"So, Hermione and I will do that, and I suggest we move on with the big plan no later than tomorrow. Knowing my father, he won't stop, until he gets his way." Apollo said seriously.

Harry heard steps, and from the door in the living room, a tall blonde haired guy emerged. Harry assumed, that must be Jason.

He looked troubled by the images that were still displayed on the screen.

"I don't– " He huffed, and turned around, leaving in the direction he came from.

"I'll go talk to him" Piper offered, and went after him.

Apollo sighed.

"I assume, Jason is having a hard time with it all?"

Harry looked at him questionably

"Why would he have a hard time about it?"

"Jason is a son of Zeus. In some ways, one might say he is my brother. It might be hard for him to adjust to all this." Apollo explained.

Harry opened his mouth, but whatever he had wanted to say, was interrupted by his own yawn.

"I don't suppose you have somewhere to take a nap?" He chuckled. Draco also looked a little worse for wear.

"I can take you to the guest wing. It's getting a little crowded though." Hermione remarked.

"I'm working on that!" Annabeth smirked.

…

Hermione led Harry and Draco down the hall of the guest wing. They were walking slowly, since the boys insisted on stopping, all the time, to study the artwork of Rachel Dare. Hermione still had trouble looking at the image of Nico sitting in the bronze jar.

"This was their second war." Hermione told them quietly. Harry and Draco looked at her questioningly.

"Their first war was around our second year. They fought against the Titans. Back then, the Greek and Roman camps didn't know about each other. There was a great battle in Manhattan, and another in San Francisco. They lost people. Their second war was not long after that. Must have taken place around our fourth or fifth year. They fought against Gaia and her Giants. The two camps were close to war against each other as well, as far as I've understood, but those, living in this house, united, to fight against Gaia together. Two times they prevented the end of civilization."

"Makes me feel kind of small." Harry commented, making Draco laugh.

"I think you're doing all right Mr. Saviour of the Wizarding World." He said, punching Harry in the shoulder.

Draco was going to stay in the room next to Will's, and Harry was staying across the hall. Draco went directly to his room, leaving Hermione alone in the hall, with Harry.

He sighed. "You know, just because you have a real brother now, it doesn't stop me from being your brother too."

Hermione looked at him bewildered.

"Of course, you're my brother, Harry. That won't change"

"There's just so much you haven't told me." Harry huffed. As much as he tried not to be, he was hurt by her secrets.

"I know" She sighed. She went into the room, that was now his, and plopped down in a chair, near the door.

"It was overwhelming, when I first found out. I really wished I could speak to you about all this, but I couldn't. What would you have said, if I told you I had been to the Underworld? Or that I had been fighting monsters with a sword? Or that I had a bloody god for a father? What would Ron have said? He already had so many complexes, I didn't really want to add to them. Plus, I believe, that there was a reason I was kept a secret."

Harry nodded thoughtfully "I think you're right."

"You do?" She asked surprised, making Harry's lips twitch.

"Back home, Malfoy and I had our own mini-investigation, and we found out, who your mother was." He told her solemnly.

Hermione's eyes widened.

"It was Marlene McKinnon. She was a friend of my parent's. She died, when your house was attacked, when you were a baby. I don't know how, but somehow, Sirius must have been able to get you out of there, or maybe you were with him, but he left you at an orphanage, everyone assumed you were dead. The house was burned to the ground with Fiendfyre."

Hermione sat in the chair, her eyebrows crinkling as she processed the information. It was a familiar sight, watching her think. In the end, she sighed.

"Thank you, for telling me. I think I'm going to head back, I need a little rest too, before trying to jump dimensions." She said with a wry smile.

"You mean you're going to head back to Nico. I saw how you were around him. Don't think we're not going to talk about that, young lady!" Harry laughed.

"Harry, you do know, that I'm older than you, making you the baby brother." Hermione smirked.

Harry's smile fell "Actually, about that, we have been doing some calculations. And it looks like, your birthday should be in March."

"How do you figure?"

"Well, everyone says, that you were four months old, when- when the attack took place. And we know from the letter my mum sent to Sirius, that it was in the end of July."

"So even my birthday is fake." Hermione whispered. "How did they even do that? The difference is big, between a four-month-old baby and a ten-month-old." she asked bewildered.

Harry drew her in for a hug.

"That, I don't know. But I'm here for you. You have two handsome big brothers, watching your back." He smiled at her, making her roll her eyes.

"Oh, before I forget, do you think you could send a note to Ginny about, where I am? Sparkles is in the living room." He yawned.

"I will. Now take off your shoes, and go to bed, before you pass out." She assured him, standing up, and herding him towards the bed, where he collapsed. It didn't take many minutes before he was out cold.

 **I really love the reviews. Thank you so much! I'm pretty happy about how this story is turning out, although, I'm still not overly fond of the first few chapters.**

 **Please keep following, and write them reviews :)**


	37. Interruption

**I am very sorry to have to interrupt this story, but last night (DK time) I received a review from an idiot, that I have to address.**

"From: Starco (Guest)

Starco:This is crap. Nico is gay. Also the gods fighting themselves is the same as them fighting each other which means you should kill yourself idiot."

Now, I am all for constructive criticism. After all, that's one of the things, that make people do better, and show them a way develop.

If it hadn't been for that last remark, it is possible, that I would have just ignored this. It is quite possible, that Nico is gay, but if you are such a stickler for canon, that you would encourage people to kill themselves over it, perhaps crossover fanfiction is not the place for you.

While I respect your right to have an opinion, I honestly can't bring myself to care enough about it enough to actually do the deed.

The problem is, that some people _do_ care enough to actually do it, or at least consider it. This might be my first fanfiction, but it isn't my first rodeo, when it comes to internet bullying.

The thing is, that writing fanfiction is about letting your imagination run loose, as it is with _all_ art.

Art is an essential part of life, that makes people express themselves, and thereby developing their own identity.

My point is, that I despise people like you, trying to inhibit creative thinking. My guess is, that the reason you wrote this as a guest, and didn't log in, is because you know, exactly what an idiot you are, and that telling people to kill themselves is actually a rather bad idea, not to mention morally abhorrent.

So, if you have nothing intelligent to say, please refrain from lowering the collective IQ of the rest of the site, or at least send me a link to your own masterpieces.

Another few pointers;

I encourage you to look up the word "civil war" since it seems like you haven't fully grasped the concept.

Also, a lot of people struggle with the boxes, that are straight or gay, actually most people fall in a place in the middle, that is called bisexual. You might want to look that up too.

…

Now, if anyone else has any critics, I welcome them, but I would greatly appreciate it, if you could keep it to constructive criticism, and please keep a good tone. That doesn't just go for reviewing my own story, it goes for every story you read out there.

And for you, you piece of crap, telling people to kill themselves, I'm not saying it's my fault, if it happens, but the next time you feel an itch, where you can't reach – I hope you think of me. Snotskovl.

Sincerely, the Princess.

PS: I promise to upload the next chapter later, but I have little patience for imbeciles, so this couldn't wait.


	38. Chapter 37

_Hermione had a lump in her throat, as she got off the train. Just on the other side of the barrier, her parents, who weren't actually her parents, would be waiting for her._

 _She kept busy a little longer, by making sure, that her trunk was properly secured on her trolley, and by saying goodbye to the Weasleys, who would be apparating back to the Burrow._

 _She felt about ready to hyperventilate, when she felt Harry's hand on her shoulder. He looked into her eyes with concern, and that's when she realized, that she was actually crying._

" _Are you nervous about telling your parents about the basilisk?"_

" _Ye-yes," She stammered. In all her emotional turmoil about the demi-god thing, and being adopted, she had completely forgotten, that she had actually been petrified, not long ago. She had been wondering, why the school hadn't notified her parents. Just the same. She had already decided, not to tell them. If they knew, they would pull her out of Hogwarts, for sure._

" _It'll be fine" He assured her, giving her a squeeze._

 _She took a deep breath, and plastered a cheerful smile on her face._

 _When she walked through the barrier and saw her parents beaming with happiness, she was almost about to start crying again._

 _She ran to them, throwing herself into their embrace, almost hitting a grumpy man with her trolley._

" _Watch it" He growled, and then he stared at her strangely. Something was off about him. She felt a strange and very strong pull from him. He looked strange too. Like he had just come from a fishing expedition. But that didn't make any sense. There wasn't exactly any water to fish in, at King's Cross. She pushed it from her mind, dismissing it as another wizard, who didn't know how to look inconspicuous in public._

 _She turned back to her parents._

" _We've missed you so much, love!" Her father gushed._

" _I've missed you too, daddy" She said automatically._

" _Let's go home" Her mother suggested "You must be tired."_

…

 _In the car on the way home, her mind kept wandering to the strange man, with the black scruffy beard, and the sea green eyes. The pull she felt, was almost familiar. She also couldn't shake the feeling, that she had seen him before. It was probably just a parent of one of her school mates though._

…

 _The next few days passed by in a daze. Her mind kept running around in circles; to tell, or not to tell her parents, that she had been petrified by a basilisk. To tell, or not to tell her parents, that she knew she was adopted._

 _It became more and more clear to her though. By the third day, she had decided, not to tell her parents on either count. Keeping the peace seemed like a good idea. Her parents would tell her she was adopted in their own time._

 _She had noticed more and more; how blind she had been. Both her parents had blue eyes. Hers were brown. She would have been a biological impossibility. They loved her though, and that's what mattered in the end. She had inherited more important things from them than eye color. She had her mother's thirst for knowledge, and she had her father's temper. Family is not just biology._

 _She was curious though, about Poseidon, about the identity of her mother. About the powers, she apparently had. Powers, that she was terrified of._

…

 _On day four of her summer vacation, she almost died of a heart attack. Metaphorically of course._

 _She walked into her room, absorbed in the book she was carrying. She went directly to her desk. It wasn't until someone cleared their throat, that she registered, that someone else was in her room._

" _Please don't scream" He said hurriedly._

" _What in the world are you doing here?" She hissed instead._

" _You gave me your address!" He told her, bewildered._

 _She looked at him incredulously. "Seriously? I don't know, what you usually do, but in normal society, it is customary, to knock on the front door!" She half shrieked. "How did you even get in?"_

 _He pointed innocently at the open window._

" _Unbelievable"_

" _So, you're not at all curious as to why I'm here?" He smirked at her._

 _She struggled with herself for a moment "Of course I'm curious, you idiot." She grumbled, making him smile._

" _My dad, spoke to yours, and they agreed, that you are going to need training. Being a demigod isn't easy. We attract a lot of monsters, and general trouble. For you, it's going to be especially difficult. You are very powerful, even for a demigod, and monsters are attracted to that. We can't take you to camp though. For one, I have no idea, how we would transport you all the way to Long Island. Secondly, we need you to be kept a secret."_

" _That just – that doesn't make any sense. I get the monster thing. I was recently petrified by a basilisk, after all, but what training? And what camp? And why isn't Poseidon telling me this himself?"_

 _Nico scratched the back of his neck._

" _You are a demigod, and I am a demigod, but we're not the only ones. In fact, there are many. Children of Athena, of Hephaestus, Aphrodite and so forth. Apollo and Hermes have a lot of kids."_

 _That got her attention. "There are more? How many kids does Poseidon have?"_

 _He sighed "Only two. You, and another guy called Percy. But he wasn't supposed to have any at all."_

" _What do you mean?"_

" _Well, there were demigods involved in World War Two. Poseidon, Hades and Zeus – "_ _He looked nervously to the ceiling, but nothing happened. "We call them 'The Big Three'. The demigod children of those three gods, are the most powerful. 'The Big Three' made a pact after the war, not to have any more children. There was a big prophecy about a child of one of them. Zeus and Poseidon broke the agreement. Zeus has a daughter, called Thalia, and Poseidon has a son called Percy, and now you."_

 _She looked at him with a shrewd expression. "Obviously, Hades wasn't so innocent either."_

 _He chuckled nervously. "Actually, I'm kind of a loophole. I was born before the war." He looked uncomfortable, telling her that._

 _Her eyebrows shot all the way to her hairline, but she managed to contain herself, somewhat._

" _You look pretty good for an eighty-year-old" She quipped._

 _He grinned. "Thanks, I suppose"_

" _So, he somehow found a loophole. But does that agreement matter, if all of them have kids anyway?"_

 _Nico ran a hand through his hair._

" _It's complicated. Zeus – " He looked to the ceiling again. "He doesn't like it, when Poseidon and Hades has kids. He tried to kill me and my sister, killed my mother. He wanted to kill Percy as well. I think he feels threatened. You are, without a doubt, the most powerful one. I don't doubt, that Zeus would try to have you killed. At best, it would create a large conflict between him and Poseidon, if it was discovered, that Poseidon didn't just break the agreement once, but twice."_

 _It was hard for Hermione, to comprehend, that the kind of the gods, might want her dead. She knew, she wasn't entirely welcome in the wizarding world, considering her heritage, but a group of pureblood snobs, she could handle. The king of the gods? Not so much._

 _She sat down on her bed in shock. Nico was standing in the middle of the room, looking awkward. He went to kneel in front of her._

" _We need to train you, to defend yourself, against monsters." He told her gently._

 _She nodded numbly. Her life was changing so drastically, she couldn't keep up._

 _She threw herself at Nico, burying her head in the crook of his neck, crying._

 _He sat, completely frozen in fear, but slowly gave in, drawing his arms around her in an embrace._

 **I got a guest review, about a clumsy formulation, when Nico is trying to explain about The Big Three. I tried to clear it up. Hope it works better now :)**


	39. Chapter 38

Nico stood in the doorway to Will's room, staring at the figure on the bed. Will was paler than he had ever seen him, and it was agony, watching his best friend, and former lover, like this.

He felt, rather than heard, Hermione approaching from behind. He let her power wash over him, soothing his turmoil.

She put her arms around him, hugging him from behind.

"I hate this" he said quietly "I can _literally_ feel his life force slipping away, but there is nothing I can do about it."

"How long do we have?" She whispered.

"It was lucky, Apollo was here. Even he can't do much, but he managed to stabilize him. I'd say we have about two, maybe three weeks."

Hermione nodded "We'll find a cure. I have faith in Draco. He is an expert in both potions, and dark magic."

"Draco. Didn't you tell me about him once or twice?"

"She probably did." Draco said, coming up, behind them, twirling his wand between his fingers. "I was a little shit back then. Still didn't snitch on you, though." He pushed himself past the two, moving towards Will's bed, casting diagnostic charms on him.

"What do you mean 'snitch'?" Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

"Well, we Slytherins, are notoriously great at keeping secrets. Usually because it's hard to blackmail someone, if everyone else already knows the secret. I saw you sometimes, sneaking around during third year. And once, at the end of second year. Interesting dress, I remember." Draco smirked.

"You knew?" She hissed.

"Of course, I knew. Don't think anyone else did, though. I never told anyone." He told her nonchalantly, busying himself with the diagnostics.

Hermione looked at him incredulously.

"Weren't you going to take a nap?"

He sighed. "I was. I am, I'm going to, I just need to check some things first. I need to figure out, if we need to invent a counter spell, or if we need to make a potion, and I need to theorize on, what we need to change with this whole demi-god thing."

"But I'm sure it can wait a couple of hours." She said gently.

He huffed impatiently. "Maybe it can, but I can't rest, when I have done nothing. This shit was invented by my forefathers, and it's resting on my shoulders. I need to fix this."

"This is not your fault, Draco. It's more mine that it is yours. It was on my arm, after all. You can't pay for Bellatrix's sins, and you aren't supposed to carry them."

"Maybe not, but I can try to atone for my own, eh?" He gave her a wry smile.

"There's no way I can talk you into going to sleep, is there?"

"Nope" He said, popping the 'p'

"Fine" She sighed. "Just, please try to rest soon, alright?"

"Yes, mother." He smirked at her.

She stuck out her tongue at him, and took Nico's hand, leading him to their own room.

"Will, will be fine." She assured him. "Draco might have been an arse, when we were younger, but he's doing better now. If anyone is going to save Will, it's him. I can feel it. I might have been first in school, but I have special powers. He was a very close second, and he has a great deal more expertise in the subjects needed here."

Nico nodded. "Did you two get close?"

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Not jealous, just curious" he assured her.

"I suppose I would call us friends. He was there, when I was tortured, so it was odd in the beginning. But somehow, we managed."

She laid down on the bed. "I need a nap before apparating. Care to join me?"

…

The god of the sun was heartbroken. Of course, heartbreak was not a foreign emotion for him, but the prospect of losing one's child, was another kind of heart shattering emotion.

He had felt the fear, when Kayla and Austin were kidnapped, but as much as he didn't want to play favorites, Will was special. He was so like himself, but in a better, selfless version. The fact that he could do nothing to help his son, just made matters worse.

All in all, the situation sucked.

Rachel helped a little. She reminded him of the prophecy, and the chance, that Will might be healed. It was just frustrating, that he couldn't do it himself.

When the other girl – Hermione, came to find him, he was sitting outside, in Calypso's garden. In his own mind, he thought of them as friends. She would probably say, that she had come to tolerate him. Barely.

Hermione cleared her throat, making him look up at her.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" She asked him.

He nodded, feeling almost numb, towards, what was to happen.

She sat down beside him.

"You know, you might die, right?" He felt the need to ask her.

"Wouldn't be the first time." She shrugged nonchalantly.

"The bravery and self-sacrifice of humanity is still baffling to me"

"I've heard you aren't incapable of that, yourself." She smirked, shoving him a little with her elbow.

"I did, what I had to do." He mumbled, looking to the ground.

"Now, I hadn't heard modesty was your strong suit." She remarked, making him grin.

"Let's do this, yea?"

…

They went to the main house, where Nico and Percy were standing.

"We should be back in about five minutes." Hermione told them.

"And if you're not?" Percy asked in his best big brother impression.

"Then maybe we'll come back in ten?" She shrugged. "I haven't exactly done this before."

"Are you sure, you can do this?" Nico asked through clenched teeth.

"Not really, but we don't have all that much choice. If we can spare human lives in this way, then we'll do it."

"Dammit, Hermione. What if you overexert yourself?" He yelled agitatedly.

She went to hug him, and give him a tender kiss. Apollo felt like turning his back. It seemed like a very private moment.

"Who's talking, Ghost King?" She whispered, resting her forehead against his.

"So!" Percy interrupted, obviously uncomfortable with PDA from his baby sister. "five minutes, you said?"

Hermione looked at Percy, disgruntled. She took Apollo's arm, and twisted on the spot.

It was highly uncomfortable. He felt like his entire being, was shoved through something way too narrow. He would not recommend it.

…

When they came out on the other side, obviously on Ogygia, Hermione felt like jumping for joy. Or she would, if she wasn't so dizzy. The apparition, had taken longer than usual, which was understandable. There were several times, she thought they had become stuck. That was the most terrifying part of the experience. Apparition was uncomfortable, and made her claustrophobic, so the idea of being stuck during one, really held no appeal.

She looked at Apollo. He seemed a little winded, but she didn't leave a limb somewhere. She mentally patted herself on the back for that. On the other hand – He was a god. Couldn't he just grow a new one?

She decided she would rather not find out.

She sat down on the beach, needing to breathe a bit, before apparating again.

"Zeus almighty! What have you done to this place?" Apollo asked, wide eyed, as he stared at the destruction, Hermione had caused.

"Training." She answered simply.

Apollo glanced at her appreciatively.

"You are more powerful, than I thought."

"Ready to go back?" She asked him, standing up, ignoring the dizziness she was feeling.

He nodded, and she grabbed his arm again, and twisted.

When they returned from Ogygia, Hermione fell to her knees. She was overcome with vertigo, and she felt blood trickling out of her nose. The metallic taste of it permeating his mouth.

"You idiot" She heard Nico hissing at her, before he scooped her up in his arms, and she blacked out.


	40. Chapter 39

When she woke up, there were a lot of people staring at her in concern.

"Urgh. Does anyone have any nectar?" She asked groggily.

"Hermione–" Harry started, but she lifted her hand, interrupting him.

"Don't, Harry. I'll be fine."

Percy, her other older brother, gave her a glass, looking at her thoroughly unimpressed. "I can't let you do this." He told her.

"Excuse me?" She said, outraged. "Nobody _lets_ me do _anything_! I'll do it whether you like it or not. I don't need your permission!" She growled.

Harry and Nico, who had plenty of experience with Hermione's temper, when telling her there was something she couldn't do, only groaned.

"Nico! Harry! Back me up here!"

Harry sighed. "I don't like it either. In fact, I hate it, but I know enough about Hermione to know, that if she has made a decision, nothing will stop her. Even if we hate it."

Nico had been biting his own cheek. "I don't like it either. My idea was, to do it on Olympus, but I can see, when another idea has merits."

"And what makes this idea better, exactly?" Percy asked exasperatedly.

"Olympus is on the top of the Empire State Building, yes? When we go up there, Zeus is most probably going to defend himself, and some of the other gods are too. Odds are, that a fight of those proportions, would devastate New York. But if we can grab Zeus, and isolate him, we can minimize the casualties, and also make it safer for ourselves, not having to worry about other gods firing at us." Hermione explained.

Percy started pacing, pulling his hair. "And you're sure you're up for it?"

She sighed. "It's going to be hard, I won't lie, but it's going to be fine."

"It's just that I only just got you. I don't want to lose you." He said quietly.

"I'll do, what needs to be done. And we _need_ to do this." Hermione intoned.

No one could argue with that.

"Get some sleep, you guys. It's going to be a hard day tomorrow." Apollo told them.

Everyone left the room, except Nico.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked, smirking.

She lifted the cover in a silent gesture.

He smiled, and stripped down to his underwear, and slipped in next to her. He pulled her close, so they were nose to nose. They laid in silence for a while, breathing in each other, Nico stroking her hair, and Hermione drawing circles on his chest with her fingers. Neither really knew, what to say. The stakes for the next day were high, and their odds weren't looking too good. Especially for Hermione. Nico didn't want to argue though. That moment was too perfect to ruin, with any kind of words, and in the end, words weren't even necessary. They stayed like that, until sleep finally caught up with them.

…

The next morning, everyone was in a funky mood, but on each their scale. They had decided, that a breakfast was in order, before the mission. Hazel was a jittery mess, Frank doing his best to comfort her. Leo was so overly cheerful, Hermione was scared, he might break his own face, Percy was constantly putting out stray bits of fire. Problem was, that Percy wasn't fully in control of his own nerves, so at one point, Leo got completely soaked. Hermione fixed it, with a wave of her hand, bit Leo still sent Percy a dirty look, from time to time. Rayna was stoic as always. Piper looked sad, mostly. Jason was MIA. Rachel looked about ready to vomit, and Apollo looked guilty beforehand. Like he was a little boy, planning to shoplift.

Draco was in Will's room, going over theories. He had asked Calypso for help, considering her natural talent in Herbology. He wanted to create a potion, that could hopefully neutralize the curse. The problem was, that he didn't know how of factor in the demi-god part.

Percy and Harry sat, sending each other looks, every few minutes. She knew they were both fighting huge hero complexes. Neither was used to sitting on the sidelines.

Apollo put up a good argument though. Hermione was the only one strong enough to magically transport, and hold Zeus down, while Apollo drew out his divinity. Sending in two children of Poseidon would look too much like a take-over, and Harry couldn't even enter Olympus.

They would follow to New York though. Harry had gotten in contact with the American wizarding government, and had been permitted access to the Floo system underneath the subway.

The plan was, Percy, Harry, Hermione and Nico, would travel by Floo to New York. Only Hermione and Nico were to take the elevator to floor 600 though. Percy and Harry would stay at the bottom.

Hermione and Nico, would then sneak in, and somehow get close enough for Hermione to apparate with Zeus. Nico would then shadow travel the hell out of there.

At Ogygia, Apollo would be waiting for Hermione, she would hold Zeus down, while Apollo stripped him from his divinity. Piece of cake, right?

…

It started out, okay. Apollo shook each of their hands, and wished them luck. He looked extra-long at Hermione, as if to make sure, she wasn't going to get cold feet. She only responded by giving him a hug, squeezing him tight, making him smile at her fondly. After sharing hugs in the living room, they were leaving. Leo was jumping on the balls of his feet, eager to see the Floo in action again.

The American station, was nothing like Hermione had ever seen before. It seemed like only a few of the fireplaces used Floo powder. The rest were open, with green flames already burning. Above them were signs like "Times Square" "5th Avenue – Empire State Building" "Brooklyn Bridge – City Hall" "Yankee Stadium"

"This is amazing" Percy whispered. His eyes were wide, looking around, taking everything in. He was obviously not deterred by the spinning of Floo travel.

Hermione smiled at his excitement. He really was her brother. She had to yank him by the sleeve towards the next fireplace.

That's, where everything went to shit.

They had just entered the lobby of the Empire State building, when a sharp crack sounded, almost like a whip, except, for the fact, that a small place in front of Hermione's feet was now black and smoking.

"I'm sorry. I can't let you do this." A familiar voice sounded behind them.

 **Only one more chapter to go of this story! It's going to be a long one though, and I'm planning a sequel :)**

 **Keep reviewing!**


	41. Chapter 40

"I'm sorry. I can't let you do this."

All four twirled around, wide eyed.

Another lightning hit, this time, close to Nico.

"Jason!" Percy exclaimed.

"Please don't make me do this. Just walk away." Jason said, his jaw clenching and unclenching. He was holding his hands out in front of him. They were shaking. If Nico didn't know better, he would think it was in a surrendering gesture, but he knew exactly, what Jason was capable of, with those hands.

"Jason, man. Let's just talk about this." Percy tried.

"No. I know exactly, what you plan to do. I can't let you. He's my _father_!"

"Yeah. I know that. I also know, that he's a major douchebag."

Way to work those people skills, Percy, Nico thought to himself. And right enough, another shot of lightning landed way too close to Percy.

"Are you ready for this?" Percy asked Jason, uncapping Riptide.

Jason responded by drawing his own golden sword. Nico wondered, not for the first time, what mortals were seeing, when demigods drew their weapons. They were circling each other, when suddenly, Jason charged. Hermione ran to the fire alarm, causing the visitors to run. Even the doorman scrambled for the exit. Nico only hoped he had left the key card behind.

Jason struck at Percy, again and again, keeping the son of Poseidon constantly on the defense, their swords clashing in sparks.

"I don't want to fight you, Jason!"

"You want to fight my father! That's good enough for me! Poseidon won't be a better king than my father!"

"You've got it wrong!" Percy yelled, finally going on offence. He started slashing at Jason's feet, but they had trained together too often, so they knew each other's moves too well. Jason rose from the ground, pushing Percy away with a gust of wind.

"Oh yeah? How so?" Jason grunted, when Percy managed to slice his calf.

"Poseidon isn't going to rule!" Percy yelled at him, exasperated. Jason summoned another lightning, that Percy tried to parry, with his bronze sword. The lightning traveled though, and made Percy drop Riptide, as he hissed in pain.

"It's still my father!" Jason made ready to send another lightning in Percy's direction, but Percy was too fast, and blasted Jason with a jet of water.

"Hermione! Nico! The elevator!" Percy urged them. "Harry! Get the rest of the people out of here!"

Nico and Hermione scrambled towards the elevator. Nico searched the desk, and found the key card, that would take them to the 600th floor.

They turned around, in time to see Harry running outside, with the rest of the people, and Jason starting to build up electricity. They got into the elevator, without a second to spare.

Jason released the lightning, and the water on the floor acted as a conduit. It was only due to Percy's ability, to stay dry, when everything was wet, that saved him from being fried to a crisp. Nico and Hermione would not have been so lucky.

…

After the others, had left, Percy and Jason stood, chests heaving.

"I don't want to fight you, Jason!" Percy said again, his voice breaking.

"I have to, Percy! It's my _dad_!" Jason yelled. He raised his sword for another strike.

"Stop! Jason, you don't need to do this!" Apollo interrupted, coming through the open doors.

"Apollo? You're not supposed to be here! You should be at Ogygia!" Percy exclaimed.

"And I will go, after I deal with this." Apollo said, seriously. "I've been looking for you, Jason. I wanted to talk to you about this. Seems like I was too late to talk."

"I can't let you do this to my father."

"You think this is fun for me? I think you forget, that he's my father too! I hate doing this, but more than anything, I hate that it's _necessary_ , I think his light show in London proved that!"

"Jason, man. I know he's your dad, but we're at a point, where everyone is suffering. We're not going to kill him, you know. We want to give him some perspective, and then he'll be reinstated as king. He did a lot of horrible things. None of the gods are innocent, but Zeus has caused a lot of unnecessary pain, to a lot of people we love." Percy tried to explain calmly.

"Put it in some perspective. He wanted to have me killed. I'm pretty sure he wants to kill my sister, and he actually killed Nico's mother."

Jason's head snapped up.

"My dad killed Nico's mom?"

"They were at a hotel. He wanted to kill Nico and his sister Bianca, because they were children of Hades. He blasted the hotel apart. Hades managed to save the children, but their mother died. Nico was just a small kid."

Jason dropped his sword, and fell to his knees.

"Why didn't he tell me?" He whispered

"Probably because you're friends. He didn't want it to come between you. I don't know. But I don't know if you've noticed, but Nico isn't exactly one to speak too much about his emotions."

"So, will you still stand in the way, Jason?" Apollo asked.

Jason shook his head slightly. "No. I can't defend him now." He lowered his head in shame.

"I will leave for Ogygia now, then. Take care." Apollo started to glow, and Percy and Jason covered their eyes, as he disappeared with a searing light.

…

Hermione felt as if she was holding her breath the entire elevator ride. She was holding Nico's hand in a death grip, and was pretty sure she must have broken some of his metacarpals by now.

They were both standing in the elevator, staring stiffly at the numbers going higher and higher. After what felt like either a second or a year, the elevator reached the magical 600th floor with a "ping"

Before walking through the doors to Olympus, Nico drew her in for a kiss.

"Come back to me, okay?" He whispered.

"I'll do my best"

Stepping out of the elevator, Hermione instantly felt like throwing up. They were standing on a narrow walkway, above the clouds, Manhattan far below them.

In front of them, a large, white marble staircase, led up to a mountain, with city of beautiful buildings. On the very top, stood an enormous white palace, shining in the sun.

They started walking up the stairs, too preoccupied to appreciate the beautiful gardens, with the fragrance of jasmine and roses.

For all intents and purposes, Olympus was a city, populated with nymphs, minor gods, satyrs and naiads, and even the Muses.

The big palace on the top of the mountain, was exactly the same as Hades' palace in the Underworld, which meant, that Nico and Hermione knew exactly how to sneak into the throne room, without being noticed.

She had heard a lot of Olympus, from Nico and Percy, but in a way, she was a bit disappointed.

There were twelve chairs, as she had been described, and a fire burning in the middle. The fire looked strange. A little girl was sitting near it, frantically trying to maintain it. Hermione had to push herself to move forward, behind the thrones, rather than stop and help the poor girl.

It looked like there had been a council of some sort, but only half of the chairs were filled.

On the largest, Zeus sat, scowling. As they came closer, he sat up straight, sensing their presence.

"You dare enter here?!" He roared, looking around with manic eyes, trying to find them."

Hermione recklessly decided, that hiding might not be in their best interest, and she stepped out between the chairs, into the center of the room.

Zeus sneered at her, and sent a lightning towards her, with much more precision, than his son had.

Hermione had been prepared for that, though, and she threw up a shield charm, powerful enough to send Zeus' lightning back towards the god of thunder. His eyes widened in surprise, and some of the other gods stood up. Ares grabbed his spear, but Hermione charged at Zeus, before he could hit her with it.

She just had time to make eye contact with Nico, who was standing behind the throne, before she apparated away, with the King of Olympus.

…

Apparating with Apollo had been a walk in the park, compared to pulling along the god of thunder, kicking and screaming.

When they landed on the beach of Ogygia, Hermione's head was pounding. She thankfully felt Apollo's presence, close behind her, because she wasn't sure, how long she would be able to hold Zeus down.

She wasn't using any spell or wand, she was using her hands, and the raw magic, that was flowing in her veins.

"I'm sorry, father" She heard Apollo whisper. He then started an incantation in ancient greek.

Zeus was screaming and struggling. He was trying to zap her with lightning, and strike her physically, but she held fast.

Apollo was still chanting, but she could feel her power draining. She was getting weaker by the second, and Apollo was far from finished.

They would fail, she was sure of it. And Zeus would punish them severely. She and Apollo would be pulverized. With her death, the protection spells on the camp would fall, and Zeus would kill all the children of the gods, who had defied him. He would attack Poseidon, and they would battle through the planet, leaving devastation in their wake. She could picture all of it inside her mind.

For this reason, she pushed harder, and harder. She gave everything she had, including her life.

Just before her last breath, she was inexplicably refilled with energy. As is she had been binge eating ambrosia. She managed to just about hold on, until she realized, where the new energy was coming from.

Nico had shadow traveled to Ogygia, and was standing behind her, his hand on her shoulder.

The first time they met, he had drained her life force. Now, he was doing it in reverse.

Several things happened simultaneously.

Nico pushed almost all his own life force into Hermione, and collapsed.

Hermione was distracted, and lost power of Zeus, who shot a lightning bolt at her, just seconds before Apollo had said the last syllable of the incantation.

…

Apollo stood on the beach of Ogygia, watching in horror, as the lightning bolt hit Hermione in the chest.

Seconds later, Zeus was mortal, and he too passed out.

He checked on both teens, sure that they were dead. Luckily, they weren't, but they were both incredibly damaged. He healed, what he could, but they were far from out of danger.

He summoned the sun chariot, and changed it, so it fit all of them, and hurried towards Camp Jupiter.

…

Back at the House of Ten, everyone's nerves were frayed.

Harry had returned, with Jason and Percy, who both looked worse for wear.

Jason was completely soaked, and was limping from a cut on his calf. Percy smelled like barbecue. No one asked questions.

Harry was pacing in front of the fireplace, and Percy was sitting, playing with the water in his glass.

Cursing was heard from the kitchen, when Leo cut himself for the third time, while attempting to cook.

Hazel was sitting close to Frank in the sofa. "Shouldn't they be back by now?" She asked for the second time in fifteen minutes.

Draco had locked himself in, with Will, who was still comatose.

Piper had thrown her arms around Jason, the second he came through the door, not caring about the wetness of his clothes or his ashamed expression.

Rachel sat on the floor, near the large windows, looking out.

Suddenly, a bright light illuminated the entire living room.

"They're here!" Rachel yelled, scrambling for the door.

They all ran towards the sun chariot, only to falter, when they only saw Apollo come out, with a solemn expression.

"What happened?" Percy rushed out, when they reached the chariot.

Apollo opened the hatch on the back. The chariot was transfigured into, what most of all looked like a super-sized ambulance.

Inside, lay a handsome young man, that they assumed to be a mortal Zeus. Next to him, lay Hermione and Nico, both completely still, barely breathing.

All three were rushed into the main house. Zeus was tied up, and put on the sofa until they knew what to do with him.

Nico and Hermione were put in their usual room.

After being given nectar, their breathing stabilized, but it was impossible to say, when they would wake up, or if they even would. They had exerted themselves so far, that them being alive was a miracle in itself. It was hard, asking for another one.

"I need to go back to Olympus" Apollo said heavily.

"Yay adulthood" Leo deadpanned, but no one laughed.

He started glowing, and everyone shielded their eyes, as he disappeared in a bright light.

…

 **So. That's it, for this round anyway. As previously stated, I** _ **will**_ **return, with a sequel. For one, the prophecy isn't done!**

 **In the sequel, I plan on having more on the ties to the wizarding world, and also on Hermione's parents. It will take some days before I start posting though. There are some small things I'm not entirely happy about in some of the previous chapters, that I want to clear up first and such.**

 **Thank you so much, everyone who has been following this story, and thanks for the reviews! It means the world to me! I really hope, that some of you will follow the next one too.**

 **Leonte**


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